shelidonNovember 13, 2024Leave a Comment

The South African wine industry ranks as the eighth largest wine producer in the world and the sixth largest exporter, contributing approximately 3.9% of the world’s wine production in 2023. It was also the main reason for our visit, as wine is my friend‘s line of work. South Africa currently has about 87,848 hectares covered in vineyards, and they mostly concentrate in the Western Cape region which has a Mediterranean climate. Last year, the total harvest was approximately 933.8 million litres, with about 83.9% allocated for wine production. Just to give you an idea, a standard Olympic swimming pool holds about 2.5 million litres, so 933.8 million litres would fill around 374 of them and that would be quite the swim. Lined up, the bottles would stretch approximately 34,550 kilometres end-to-end. That’s almost the circumference of Earth (40,075 km).

Bottles of what?

Thanks for asking.

Before the trip, I only knew two of what they call The Big Six (following The Big Five of the natural kingdom, I guess): the Shiraz, one of my favourite varieties of red and Pinotage, South Africa’s signature grape and, as far as I understand it, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut. The other four are Cabernet Sauvignon, the most widely planted red grape in South Africa with 10.4% of total vineyard coverage, the highly versatile Chenin Blanc, one of the most planted white varieties with 18.4% of total vineyard coverage, the Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc. Other notable varieties include Merlot and Grenache.

Geographically, we went to two of the most popular areas: Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

Franschhoek

In Franschhoek you can move around with a charming wine tram, and the area is renowned for Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and sparkling wines made using the Méthode Cap Classique. Established in 1688 by French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution, Franschhoek retains a strong French influence, evident in the names of its wine estates. The valley has a long-standing winemaking tradition, but it was only classified as an official district under South Africa’s Wine of Origin scheme in 2010, previously being part of the Paarl district.

Franschhoek is often regarded as the cradle of Semillon, a grape from the Bordeaux region, but the most interesting part to experts is probably the wines produced with the Méthode Cap Classique, which is a method of producing sparkling wines with secondary fermentation in the bottle exactly like it’s done with the Méthode Champenoise, the one that gives us Champagne. The process begins with the production of a base wine from selected grape varieties, typically including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and sometimes Pinot Meunier. The base wine is bottled with a mixture of sugar and yeast (known as liqueur de tirage), and yeast avidly feed on the sugar, fermenting it and… well, eventually dying. Something I’ll eventually have to put into a horror short story. The dead yeast cells are called lees, and the wine is aged basking in necromancy. It’s like Champagne but if you call it Champagne the French get nervous.

On the tram we were on the Navy Line, which includes a portion on a bus and a portion on the actual tram. The bus touches:

• Le Pommier, which owes its name to the fact that it once was part of a 300-year-old apple orchard;
• Bartinney, a relatively recent stunning property situated on the slopes of Botmaskop alongside the Helshoogte Pass, spanning 28 hectares and with a focus on sustainability;
• Camberley, established in 1990 by Gael and John Nel, who transitioned from farming plums to cultivating grapes;
• Zorgvliet, originally owners of Le Pommier too before granting it to one Casper Wilders in 1692;
• Allée Bleue, next to the Groot Drakenstein Terminal.

The tram touches:

• Vrede en Lust; situated at the foot of the Simonsberg Mountain and established in 1688, making it one of the oldest wine farms in South Africa;
• Plaisir, established in 1693 by Huguenot Charles Marais;
• Boschendal, one of South Africa’s oldest and most celebrated wine estates.

Be careful that the bus will only leave you for one hour at each winery, while the tram is more flexible. If you do the math, you can do five tastings by stopping only an hour in each spot, but I encourage you to take at least two hours in one place, to have lunch. You’ll have to select three or four of them, and no, when you purchase the experience, you’re purchasing it for a specific line. There’s five of them. Some wineries are only touched by specific lines. Study your itinerary before you purchase the tickets.

What about the Huguenots?

The Huguenots fled to South Africa primarily to escape religious persecution in France. This exodus was prompted mainly by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes on October 22, 1685, which had previously granted French Protestants (Huguenots) the right to practice their faith. The revocation led to the outlawing of Protestantism and resulted in severe persecution, including violence and forced conversion to Catholicism. Many Huguenots initially fled to neighbouring countries like the Netherlands, England, and Germany, but around 180 Huguenots organized a mass emigration towards South Africa between 1688 and 1689, encouraged by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to bolster its population and agricultural capacity at the Cape. Upon arrival, many Huguenots settled in an area that became known as Franschhoek, meaning “French corner.” This area was designated for them as they were granted farms along fertile riverbanks, where they could cultivate crops and establish a new life.

Stellenbosch

In Stellenbosch we visited two wineries: Simonsig and Waterford, with a stop at Tokara to have lunch.

Simonsig is situated at the foot of a mountain with the same name, 50 km east of Cape Town, and it was established in 1968 by Frans Malan. The estate is significant because the man was a trailblazer in the South African wine industry, being the first winemaker to plant Chardonnay in the country and, as far as I understand it, the first, in 1971, to produce a Méthode Cap Classique under the less appealing name of Kaapse Vonkel. The estate is family-owned to this day and it strikes the visitor as less fake than the ones along the wine tram, with actual people working in the actual vineyards.

Waterford is another recent estate, established in 1998, and it’s popular because of its building designed by architect Alex Walker with a Mediterranean flair. The estate’s layout includes a central courtyard with a fountain, surrounded by large plane trees and a porch like the one you would find in a monastery.

One of the popular experiences offered is the wine and chocolate pairing, where visitors can enjoy selected wines alongside handcrafted chocolates created by chocolatier Richard von Geusau, but my pick was a particular experience in which they offered three sets of wines in two different versions, one aged 2 years and one aged 4 years. It was interesting to taste the difference.

Tokara is possibly the most stunning of the three venues, situated along the scenic Helshoogte Road which connects Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. The estate’s vineyards extend from 350 to 550 meters above sea level and the gentle slopes can be seen from the stunning places dedicated to the deli and the tastings.

The entrance to Tokara’s winery and restaurant doubles as an eclectic art gallery, showcasing a variety of artworks created by local artists such as the “too much wine yesterday” lady, and the “I’ve got something on my stomach” sculpture.

Is it all about colonialism?

That’s the first impression when you take these tours. Although many of these wineries are from the 90s, they have French and Dutch names and were established by white people. This isn’t the whole story, and if you want to dive deeper I suggest you read this article about 12 Black-Owned Wineries and Wines in and Around Cape Town. As of today, only 60 of the 2.800 wine farmers are Black, and less than 2% own the land their working on. The first significant step in trying to change that was taken in 1993, during the Convention for a Democratic South Africa that led to the official end of apartheid and three years after Nelson Mandela was freed from his unjust imprisonment, and it was constituted by the Provision of Land and Assistance Act to facilitate the redistribution of land by providing financial assistance and support for land acquisition by previously disadvantaged individuals. The most significant act, however, was the Restitution of Land Rights Act in 1994, designed to restore land rights to individuals or communities dispossessed of their property after 1913. The African National Congress (ANC) promised to transfer around 60 million acres through these initiatives. As of today, only 34 million acres of land have been transferred to Black farmers since the end of apartheid. However, while perusing the wineries suggested through the article, you might find people complaining that these tenants got their land for free. This is what the assholes are referring to.

I don’t have the time nor the knowledge to give you an overview of all the Black-Owned wineries mentioned in the article, but I would like to mention at least one because I had the chance to meet her in person while doing our tasting at Simonsig (and yes, I fangirled): Ntsiki Biyeli, founder and owner of the Aslina winery, is the first Black female winemaker in South Africa. She received a scholarship from South African Airways to study viticulture and oenology at Stellenbosch University in 1998, after many attempts and facing many challenges, and eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 2003. She joined Stellekaya Wines in 2004 as their winemaker, and her first red wine won a gold medal at the Michelangelo International Wine Awards. In 2017, she launched her own brand and called it Aslina Wines, after her grandmother. This venture was self-funded, and she aimed to create wines that resonate with local consumers by using familiar flavour references and descriptors rather than traditional European references. She is actively involved with the Pinotage Youth Development Academy, which trains young people in the Cape Winelands for careers in the wine industry, and she received the Diversity and Transformation Award at the 2021 Wine Harvest Commemorative Event for her efforts in promoting inclusivity within the industry. She rocks.