South Africa, Land of Variety

World Cup competition comes to South Africa in June. Start the celebration of soccer’s ultimate event a little early with South African wines.

In so doing, experience the country’s past, present and future.

Winemaking in South Africa dates back 350 years to the time Dutch settlers first occupied land around the Cape of Good Hope near the southern tip of the African continent. Before the abolition of the racial segregation policy known as apartheid, South African wines were the pariahs of the world’s wine market, subject to the same global economic boycott as the rest of the country’s goods.

With the dismantling of apartheid and democratic elections in 1994, South Africa was welcomed back to the community of nations. Sales of South African wines began to grow around the world as wineries adopted a more international style of winemaking.

“Value for the money is the No. 1 reason to buy South African wines,” said ex-pat Peter Clinton, president of Vinnovative Imports. His company, based in Denver, N.C., was created in 1995 to reintroduce South African wines to U.S. consumers.

“You get much more bang for the buck,” Clinton added. “The wines are real wines, they’re not over-extracted, over-manipulated wines that you find in California, or have to pay through the nose for in France.”

White grape varieties make up 56 percent of the country’s wine plantings, according to industry statistics. Chenin Blanc, called “steen” in South Africa, is the top white wine grape.

Cabernet sauvignon is the most widely planted red wine grape, followed by syrah and merlot. In fourth place, according to the annual report South African Wine Industry Statistics, is planting of South Africa’s own pinotage, a cross of pinot noir and cinsault (called hermitage there) invented in the 1920s.