South Africa is a country that produces a wide range of quality wines. Our most famous regions include Stellenbosch, Constantia and Paarl. The Cape winelands, where many interesting wines are produced, is one of the most scenic places in South Africa. Read about wines that are in Wine Direct's cellar to find out which wines we liked the most!
Constantia Historical region that's tucked away in the smart southern suburbs of Cape Town (this is where the first vineyards were planted in South Africa), now undergoing a bit of a revival. As well as being a beautiful region, the vineyards are ideally sited on the slopes of Constantia Mountain, where they are cooled by the sea breezes. Estates in this region include: Klein Constantia, Buitervenwachting, Constantia Uitsig and Steenberg.
Elgin Newish cool-climate region east of Stellenbosch, which is still predominantly a fruit-growing area. Because of the altitude, it's usually a good few degrees cooler than the main wineland regions. Leading producer is Paul Cluver.
Franschoek The Franschoek valley is a small but significant region, inland (to the west) of Stellenbosch. Surrounded by the spooky-sounding Drakenstein mountains, the wide variety of soils and relatively high rainfall permits production of a wide variety of wine styles. It's a hotter region than Stellenbosch, and with its profusion of trendy restaurants it can rightfully claim to be the gourmet capital of the winelands.
Paarl Well known region north-west of Cape Town, and home to several leading producers, including Fairview and Glen Carlou. Traditionally a white wine region, but with its Mediterranean climate and terroirs it's now focusing more on reds. Hotter than Stellenbosch, so the very best wines come from the more elevated vineyards.
Robertson Some 120 km east of Cape Town, next door to Worcester, this hot region is rather paradoxically best known for its whites. De Wetshof and Graham Beck are among the leading producers here.
Stellenbosch The country's leading wine area, and is home to many of the country's leading estates. There are several different subregions, and the geology here is quite complex. Simplistically, the granite-based soils in the east are especially suited to the production of fine red wines, whereas the sandstone soils in the west are best for whites.
Swartland Large region to the north of Cape Town, mostly given over to wheat farming. Rainfall is light, so irrigation is usually needed. The cooperatives dominate.
Walker Bay This cool-climate wine region, on the Whale Coast to the south of Cape Town, is on the up: just a few producers so far, but Hamilton Russell and Bouchard Finlayson are now making classy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc shows promise.
Worcester Hot (thermally, that is) wine region located inland from Cape Town. Production here is dominated by several large cooperatives.
South Africa is widely recognised as the cradle of mankind. Still older are the soils of the Cape wine regions. They are highly varied, mainly due to pronounced differences in topography and geology, greatly impacting on mesoclimate and vine performance.
