Viticulture in southern Africa can be traced back to 1655, when the Dutch governor of the Cape of Good Hope region planted a vineyard in 1655. But since the Dutch had almost no wine tradition, it was only after the French Huguenots settled at the Cape between 1680 and 1690 that the wine industry began to flourish. The 18th and 19th centuries were chaotic for the wine industry here, however, with myriad boom-and-bust cycles.

In 1972, the government introduced its own take on the French   More

Viticulture in southern Africa can be traced back to 1655, when the Dutch governor of the Cape of Good Hope region planted a vineyard in 1655. But since the Dutch had almost no wine tradition, it was only after the French Huguenots settled at the Cape between 1680 and 1690 that the wine industry began to flourish. The 18th and 19th centuries were chaotic for the wine industry here, however, with myriad boom-and-bust cycles.

In 1972, the government introduced its own take on the French AOC system, the "Wines of Origin" scheme which designated 13 geographically delimited winegrowing regions, and which controlled label nomenclature, allowed grape varieties, etc. But really, it has only been since the end of apartheid in 1994, and the resulting rescinding of economic sanctions against South Africa, that these wines have been able to gain an audience. Candor forces us to acknowledge, by the way, that the end of apartheid did not end altogether either racist attitudes in some dark corners of the South African wine industry nor certain labor practices that have racism at their root. We're referring to such issues as substandard worker housing and inadequate attention to employee health and safety.

South Africa is chiefly known today for stunningly good Chenin Blanc (and Sauvignon Blanc to a lesser degree), dessert wines such as the Muscat of Constantia, reds from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, and of course for its very own Pinotage, a Cinsault-Pinot Noir cross developed at the University of Stellenbosch in 1925.   Less