| Wine & Wineland | ||
| Facts & Figures | ||
Brief Overview |
||
| With its magnificent natural beauty, its rich cultural heritage and its world-renowned wines - the Winelands Region is synonymous with all the best that the Cape has to offer. It has often been noted that the Cape Winelands are probably the most scenic in the world. Splendid mountains form a dramatic backdrop to lush vineyards and gabled Cape Dutch homesteads steeped in history remind of Dutch and Huguenot settlers of the late 17th century, who cultivated the wild landscape. Today the Cape's wine culture is over 300 years old and with 100.000 hectares under wine, it reflects a wine tradition of tastes and styles with its roots in the classic “Old World” of France, Germany and Italy, combined with the acute awareness of the contemporary fruit-driven styles of the “New World”. The perfect climatic and topographic conditions of the Southern Cape produce the finest wines and also most reputable easy-drinking wines. After long years of economic isolation, the South African wine industry has all potential and expectations to be a major player in the modern wine world. | ||
 |
||
Production & Sales |
||
| According to figures from the exporter association Wines of South Africa (WOSA), international sales for 2003 increased 10% to top 235 million litres compared with 2002. Internationally, the industry produces 3,1 % of the world´s wine and ranks as number 9 in overall volume production. Currently 100 200 hectares of vines producing wine grapes are under cultivation in over an area some 800 kilometres in length. White varietals constitute 55% and red varietals for 45% of the national vineyard. The most widely planted white varietal are Chenin Blanc (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (15%), Shiraz (9%), and Merlot and Pinotage (each 7%). The Worcester Region has the most vineyard plantings (19% of all vines), followed by Paarl and Stellenbosch (17%), Robertson (14%), Malmesbury (12 %), Olifants River (9%), Orange River (9%) and Little Karoo (3%). Volumewise the Worcester Region also produces the most wine (24%), followed by Olifants River (17%), Robertson (14%), Paarl and Orange River (12%), Stellenbosch and Malmesbury (9%), and Little Karoo (3%). | ||
 |
||
| Climate and Environment | ||
| Although the country is classified as semi-arid, it has considerable variation in climate. The great inland Karoo plateau is very dry, and so is the Kalahari Desert. Extremely hot in summer, it can also be icy in winter. In contrast, the eastern coastline is lush and well watered. The southern coast, part of which is known as the Garden Route, is less tropical but also green, as is the Cape Region all year round. This south-western corner of the country has a Mediterranean climate, with wet winters and dry summers, but its most famous climatic characteristic is its wind, which blows virtually all year round, either from the south-east or the north-west. Free State and the Highveld are semi-arid, but saved by its altitude (Johannesburg lies at 1 740m) from subtropical extremes of heat. Winters are cold, though snow is rare. Further north and to the east, especially where a drop in altitude beyond the escarpment gives the Lowveld its name, temperatures rise. | ||
 |
||
| Geology and Soils | ||
| Massive pressures and upheavals over millions of years resulted in majestic mountain ranges on the southern tip with steep slopes and deep valleys, soft folds and soaring peaks, and created a remarkable variety of mesoclimates and soil types in the process. The highly regarded reddish and yellowish brown soils are usually associated with granitic hills, for example the Bottelary, Malmesbury and Darling hills, and the granitic foot slopes of the sandstone mountains, including Table Mountain, Stellenbosch Mountain, and the Hottentots Holland, Helderberg and Simonsberg mountains. These soils, at altitudes of 150-400 m, are relics of a past, high rainfall, tropical era. Other soils that formed on granite occur on gently undulating hills between the mountains and the sea at 20-150 m altitude. This zone was invaded several times by the sea due to land recession and uplifting. The generally consistent performance of vines on these soils over seasons, especially when coupled with good exposure to prevailing cool sea breezes, ensures good quality wines. | ||
 |
||
