The journey began in the mid-1990s with two pioneers leading consumers back to top quality versions of one of the country's best-loved varieties. Hilko Hegewisch marched alone on this road with Boschendal's Jean le Long Auction Reserve wooded Chenin, which he first started making in 1993. On the unwooded front, he was joined by Irina von Holdt, whose Blue White Chenin Blanc took the market by storm in 1995. Those were lonely days for these top quality Chenin producers, with little industry attention paid to yields and the bulk of grapes sold off to local co-ops. How things have changed for South Africa's most widely planted variety!

Some growers have accepted the initial message about the need to protect old Chenin vineyards. But uprooting has continued apace over the past ten years. Back in 1995, Chenin Blanc, which is still the most widely planted variety in South Africa, topped the charts by claiming a whopping 33% of all vineyards. By 2002, this figure had been steadily eroded in favour of more lucrative black grape varieties, and had dwindled to a mere 18%. Clearly, the industry is juggling with the future of this grape, because in that year, while Chenin was the most uprooted variety, some producers also started looking ahead. A surprising statistic shows that in 2002, Chenin was also the second most planted variety!

The Chenin Blanc Association (CBA) has been very active in identifying vineyards that produce smaller yields and the best quality fruit. Hopefully, their efforts will continue to encourage farmers to stem their uprooting programmes, especially in the face of growing local and international recognition for our quality wines. This is seen nowhere more clearly than the recent Veritas results, where Chenin Blancs claimed more Double Gold medals than any other white wine variety: (Chenin 7, Chardonnay 4, Sauvignon Blanc 0), while also scooping a record 8 Gold medals.

This success is also notable because the awards covered wines made in a variety of styles - from fresh and fruity 2004 vintages through to a number of bottle-matured wines. Amongst them that testify to Chenin's amazing versatility are Fleur du Cap's 2002, 2003 and 2004 vintages, Nederburg's Edelkeur Private Bin Noble Late Harvest 2003, Asara's Reserve Selection Chenin 2001 and Old Vines' Blue White Chenin Blanc 1998.

The resounding message is that greater attention is being paid to what was once the variety associated with high volume wines. And, the good news for consumers is that these days, even the young wines are shining, having taken on a more serious note, and offering greater depth and complexity.