Well that’s right, there are also excellent wines in South Africa. Another of the traditional countries of the so-called New World, with a great winemaking tradition and a good number of areas, although, at first glance, it may seem that its wines do not have the renown of those from California, Australia or New Zealand. A country that has known how to adapt French varieties to its terroir, even creating a variety, such as pinotage, practically exclusive to South Africa, a hybrid between pinot noir and cinsault.
Stellenbosch, at the foot of Cape Town, is the quintessential reference, both in terms of vineyard area and the quality of its wines. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Chenin Blanc are the most representative white varieties, while Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvingnon, Pinot Noir and Pinotage stand out among the reds.
In Constancia, exquisite sweet wines are made with semillon and, of course, we cannot forget the Klein Constancia muscat, a true delight. For its part, Paarl has very variable soils, from granitic and sandy to slate. Red wines are usually made with Shiraz, Mourvèdre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage, while Chenin Blanc is the most abundant white variety, although Viogner, Semillon and Chardonnay are also widely represented.
Overberg is another important area where wines made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay stand out, although there are also great wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and, of course, Pinotage.
Other relevant wine regions are Olifants River; Swartland, where we found an excellent viticulturist such as Eben Sadie; the Breede Valley and Klein Karoo, ideal for growing Chardonnay and a place where excellent sweets are made.
When I talk about South African wines, a memory always comes to mind that I experienced in the final of the Vila Viniteca competition in 2017, where we won a pinot noir from Hamilton Russell. The wine threw us off and this variety was one of the options we considered, but we didn’t dare to put it on. Who knows if we would have gone up to the box if we had taken the risk. We will never know that, nor is it worth thinking too much about, but bringing it to the fore is a way of drawing attention to the fact that South Africa also exists and that they do it very well. Furthermore, although the reader may not believe it, finding South African wines is not that difficult; today, almost everything can be found in specialized online stores.