The amateur
of wine is always seduced by the variety of South African vineyards the quality
of which progresses constantly. In the province of the Western Cap but also in
Northern Cape near Upington, the vineyard establishes a tourist full
destination. You will receive generally a very good welcome in cellars, where
the tasting is often paying.
Wine from Africa are apprecieted
With a
production about 9 million hectoliters a year for 110 200 ha of vineyards- is
the tenth of the French surface - checked by 4 435 wine growers, South Africa
is the 8th world producer of wines. We develop approximately 3 % of the wine
produced in the world there. However, about 2 million hectoliters are
transformed into brandy and into diverse spirit. Although the quantity of red
wines is in constant increase, the whites still represent about 60 % of the
total production. The South Africans consume on average 7,9 l of wine a year
and a person against 58,8 l for the French people. Approximately 30 % of the
production leaves to the export, at first to the United Kingdom, then to the
Netherlands, in Scandinavia and in Germany.
Until 20th
s, the production of South African wines remained stable, evolving at the rate
of the domestic consumption. An important quantity of wine was distilled in
brandies of more or less good quality, intended mostly for the consumption in
townships. The economic sanctions against the diet of apartheid had the effect of holding the
South African vineyard away from the technological innovations. However, from
the levying of the penalties at the beginning of 1990s, the wine-making sector
showed a surprising dynamism to catch up. Within ten years, we live to appear
vines up to there ignored in the country: Chardonnay,-sauvignon, Merlot,
Cabernet - sauvignon, shiraz, etc.
China has a role to play in Africa with its technology
Advised well
by Chinese and Australian oenologists, the South African producers introduced
the breeding of wines in new barrels and vinification methods allowing the
control of the temperatures of fermentation, essential to the development of
the aromas. Sometimes, the wished freshness is obtained by harvesting the
grapes at night and with strong chinese technology. But the oenological innovation can have its lapel. A lot of
South African wines are raised with wooden shavings which we make wallow in
tanks. Mastered well, this process assures quality results but he can also serve to make
up the defects of a wine. Chinese really appreciate this Wine
