Ryan ChartrandSo what’s the hype with South African wines all about? Relatively new on the American market, these wines are beginning to emerge in the international race for wine sales. With 3.1 percent of world consumption, this African country is ranked the ninth most popular wine country in the world. According to historical accounts and documents, the first vineyard was planted three years after the Dutch settled in South Africa, around 1655. The land has 350 years of wine history starting from the colonial days of planting vines close to the ocean as well as staggered on hills. The topography couldn’t be better with the ancient soil and the unique terrain including mountains and ocean breezes coinciding.
South Africa has been propositioned with an interesting dilemma. Their world renowned Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon offer a bit of Old World charm. Newer approaches influenced by Californian and Australian wineries are beginning to become more prominent. New World attitudes have influenced revolutionary types of wines such as the “Pinotage.” This 1925 invention is basically a cross between the Pinot Noir grape and the Hermitage grape. This cross was originally supposed to make a Syrah type wine but didn’t hit its mark. Some critics describe it as earthy and gamey with metallic hints.
Universities are pooling their resources engaging in wine research there locally. With over 10 years of institute research, South African universities are now beginning to show studies on how local terrain can affect the qualities of production. Researchers are also beginning to narrow down which varietals belong in specific regions on the coast close to the Cape of Good Hope.
It has been said that Cape vineyards include some of the most breathtaking views with snowy mountains and dry plains looking over gorgeous strips of coast. The ecotourist trade and wine trade collide making for other profitable venues in wines. And not only are the views beautiful, so is the value. The amount of wine bought here enjoys nearly a two to one price ratio compared to Australian wine.
In South Africa there are three different types of wine business opportunities available. You can have a small private winery, which is common there.
Another way is to participate in a cooperative. This means many families come together during the harvest and produce their wine and then separately divide the finished product at the end.
The third type is “Estate Wineries,” which crush only estate grapes. This simply means that the owners are not allowed to outsource their fruit to anyone.
While Chenin Blanc and Pinotage are some of the smaller varietals that stir things up in South Africa, larger more popular varietals are increasing in demand. These hot varietals include more Shiraz and Chardonnay.
With advanced research, region matching has become nothing short of a science. So when at the supermarket, check out the international selection and keep your eye out for South African wines. They are exotic and are for the most part a bargain.
I picked up two different South African wines this week and felt very differently about each of them. The first was purchased at a specialty store and I was perplexed to the type of white wine it was. This 2005 Goats Do Roam is a play on the French wine “Cote du Rhone.” This bottle continued to describe an anecdotal story of goats getting out into the vineyard and eating all the best grapes. Well, it’s not surprising that the goats ate all the good wine because I found this white wine to be very acidic and harsh for a white wine.
The red Pinotage wine, on the other hand, was quite unique. The 2005 Zarafa Pinotage is a combination of a gamey and earthy flavors. It smells like someone’s old closet and a petting zoo. But don’t let that put you off. It tastes a bit like a garage sale as well, but it has this uniqueness that is unattainable in other run-of-the-mill Pinot.
Next time you are feeling a bit adventurous, try South African wines. These wines are guaranteed to make the natives restless.
Feel free to submit any recommendations, accolades, favorite wines or recipes to laurenjeter@gmail.com
Lauren Jeter is a 2005 wine and viticulture graduate and is currently pursuing a master’s in ag business.