A Brief history of winemaking in south africa

Thanks to Wine South Africa, we have this intriguing history, starting in the mid seventeenth century!

1659 – 2023

1659    Seven years after the founding of a Dutch settlement at the Cape by Jan van Riebeeck, the first wine was pressed on 2 February from cuttings imported from France.

1685    Governor Simon van der Stel established a wine estate at Constantia on the lower slopes of Table Mountain.

1688    The young wine industry was given a boost by the arrival of 200 French Huguenots, who brought with them a wine culture, even though not many of them had detailed knowledge of winemaking. Viticulture is established beyond the boundaries of the Cape Peninsula, with wine farms in Stellenbosch and Drakenstein (which later became known as Franschhoek).

1788    Hendrik Cloete of Constantia produces natural sweet wines that become famous overseas. For almost two centuries these remain the Cape’s best-known and most desirable wines, enjoyed by European kings and their guests, emperors, statesmen and merchant princes.

19th Century    South Africa’s wine industry suffered due to epidemics of powdery mildew and Phylloxera vastatrix. Global politics and market forces also take their toll, causing a serious over-production of wine and a substantial drop in prices, resulting in the disposal of millions of litres of unsaleable wine.

1918    Paarl advocate Charles WH Kohler found the Ko-operatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika – a cooperative involving all wine producers, for whom it means a secure income and financial growth. KWV brings stability to the industry, placing it on the road to growth and prosperity.

1925    The successful crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut (Hermitage) by Professor AI Perold to produce Pinotage, a truly South African cultivar. A concerted drive over the years has seen this wine become one of the flagship varieties of the South African wine industry.

1957    The introduction of cold fermentation was a major breakthrough in wine technology and resulted in a better bouquet and improved quality of white wines. This method also increased the popularity of semisweet wines and extended to the red wine boom of the early 1970s.

1971    The Stellenbosch Wine Route was founded and today the dynamic wine routes in all the wine production areas are major tourist attractions. The scenic winelands have been described as the most beautiful in the world.

1973    The Wine of Origin Scheme is introduced. A total of 13 areas of origin are designated and limitations are placed on the use of the term “estate”, vintage years, and grape cultivar designations. Local wine industry regulations are brought in line with those in Europe and cultivar and classic wines become more popular. The scheme is applied by the Wine and Spirit Board. The administration and inspection services are now contracted to SAWIS.

1997    The wine producers’ organisation, KWV, transformed from a cooperative to a company.

1999    The Wine Industry Trust was established by the minister of agriculture and KWV to fund and manage generic promotion and research for the SA wine industry, assist with the establishment of new farmers from previously disadvantaged groups and promote the development of farm worker communities.

2000    Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery (SFW) and Distillers Corporation merged to form Distell, a move that would benefit the industry as a whole through its rationalisation, refocusing and effective pooling of resources.

2001    The Vision2020 research report to formulate a strategic programme for the South African wine industry is completed.

2002    The SA Wine and Brandy Company (SAWB) is formed and draws together stakeholders from all sectors of the wine industry to implement a strategic programme to make the industry globally competitive.

2003    Vinpro was founded as an independent service organisation for wine producers which offers consultation services in viticulture, oenology, soil science, agri-economics and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). It is also committed to information transfer through WineLand Media and other publications such as the annual SA Wine Industry Directory. Through WineMS it offers an information management system for wine businesses.

2004    The SAWB initiates a Charter for Black Economic Empowerment in collaboration with SAWIS. Its Wine Industry Strategy Plan (WIP) entails the development of economic, social, and human resources programmes.

2004    The Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI) was formed. A partnership between the wine industry and various conservation bodies, it aims to protect the Cape’s unique biodiversity and extraordinary but threatened Floral Kingdom (9 600 species, 70% of which are endemic) through collaboration with the Integrated Production of Wine (IPW) system.

2005    The world’s first Biodiversity Wine Route opens in the 34 000 ha Groenland­berg Conservancy. The Green Mountain Eco Route in the Kogelberg Biosphere offers a variety of ecotourism activities in the Elgin, Bot River and Theewaterskloof Dam regions.

2006    The South African Wine Industry Council replaces the SAWB, to represent the South African wine industry and enhance the strategic environment for the benefit of the South African wine industry.

2008    Vinpro transformed into a company. Abrie Beeslaar, winemaker at Kanonkop, is named International Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC). He is the fourth South African winemaker to receive this honour, following in the footsteps of Günter Brözel (1985), Beyers Truter (1991) and Altus le Roux (2001). Kanonkop has been awarded the trophies for the best blended red wine with its Paul Sauer 2003 and best South African producer. 

2009    On 2 February the South African wine industry celebrates 350 years of winemaking.

2010    The “green seal” is introduced to denote the integrity and sustainability of a wine. A voluntary system, the certification is awarded to wines that comply with IPW guidelines. The new seal, to be displayed on environmentally friendly wines, features a protea.

2011    WineLand magazine, incorporating Wynboer – the mouthpiece of the South African wine industry, celebrates its 80th anniversary. Originally established as Wine and Spirit – a South African Review, it was renamed Wynboer in 1965 and WineLand in 2000. 

2013    In 2013 two major wine industry organisations, Vinpro and Wine Cellars South Africa, merged to form one powerful representative body for wine grape producers and cellars. The merger enhances the wine industry’s bargaining power, unlocks strategic synergies, and leads to more efficient service delivery.

2014    The wine industry launched the Wine Industry Strategic Exercise (WISE) with the aim to craft a revised strategic framework with aspirational targets needed to ensure an adaptable, robust, globally competitive and profitable SA wine industry.

2016    WISE identifies six main work streams: Socioeconomic development and upliftment, economic empowerment and development, market development and promotion, knowledge and information development, technology innovation and transfer, and HR development and training. Ten projects of which six game changers (analysis of consumer trends per key market and formalising a global trade agenda, technological innovation, promoting Brand SA, improving tourism, creating a transformation plan for the industry, and forming a social compact between industry, government, and labour) are rolled out in 2016. 

2017    A phase of significant uprooting of vineyards and business realignment, creating an improved balance between supply and demand, swings the pendulum towards demand-driven production. There is a strong focus on repositioning South African wine in higher-value segments in priority markets. Oude Meester Demant is named World’s Best Brandy at the 2017 World Drinks Awards. WISE is in the process of finalising the Wine Tourism Strategy and as part of this initiative an online wine tourism portal, visitwinelands.co.za, was launched.

2018    The wine industry worldwide suffers production setbacks leading to pressure on wine supplies. Europe’s wine production is at its lowest in nearly 45 years. In South Africa, the total area under vine has shrunk by almost 9% in ten years, a trend that looks set to continue in the foreseeable future. A series of high-profile acquisitions include the sale and merger of Uitkyk and Warwick Wines, while French company AdVini acquired a majority share in Stellenbosch Vineyards.

2019    On 2 February the South African wine industry celebrates 360 years of winemaking. The 2019 production year was characterised by great variation in yields between and within regions. Red varieties in particular had lower yields in certain regions. The Northern Cape, Swartland, Paarl and Worcester regions produced larger crops than the previous year, but from a low base after large losses in 2018, while Olifants River and Klein Karoo were hit by a second consecutive year of drought.

2020    As the Covid pandemic swept the globe, tourism, and the ability to socialise ground almost to a halt, just as the industry looked forward to celebrating an exceptional harvest. The local wine industry was hit especially hard, as government-imposed lockdowns limited the sale and distribution of alcohol for 14 consecutive weeks. As a result, wine consumption in South Africa declined 19.4% compared to 2019 – the lowest in 20 years.

2021     Tim Atkin’s South African report calls this vintage one of the Cape’s best to date. Supposed to be a year of recovery, Covid restrictions continued wreaking havoc. An excellent harvest meant producers had to find new ways to move large volumes of uncontracted surplus wine. As a result of low production worldwide, the industry experienced a boom in the value of exports. In the local market, wineries polished their e-commerce and direct-to-consumer models, while large investors were being drawn to opportunities offered by the “new normal”.

2022    South Africa draws international interest with the highly anticipated CapeWine trade fair hosted in Cape Town, and Stellenbosch plays host to the second International Chenin Blanc Congress. Ken Forrester Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc 2021 and KWV The Mentors Cabernet Franc 2019 steal Best in Show at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Van Ryn’s 20-year-old potstill brandy wins World’s Best Wine Brandy at the World Brandy Awards. The wine industry revises its strategic plan (WISE) towards 2025, now incorporated in the multi-stakeholder Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP).
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2023    A new umbrella organisation, South Africa Wine NPC, was founded on 1 June 2023 to unite all functions of the South African wine industry under a single voice. Heineken South Africa successfully completed its acquisition of Distell and Namibia Breweries to form Heineken Beverages. Van Ryn's 15-year-old potstill brandy is named as the World's Best Wine Brandy at the 2023 World Brandy Awards.