Page 6 - SA_Wine_Guide_2026

General Info

Picture by Marlin Clark on Pexels.com
History of SA Wine on the banks of the Liesbeek River in
Mowbray. The disease spreads rapidly,
1652 – Jan van Riebeeck (first Governor and results in the uprooting and destruc-
of the Cape) arrives at the Cape to set up tion of millions of Cape vines.
a refreshment station for the Dutch East 1918 – The Ko-operatiewe Wijnbouw-
India Company. ers Vereeniging van Zuid-Afrika Beperkt
1655 – The first vines are shipped to the (KWV) is formed under the leadership of
Cape, arriving from France, the Rhine- Charles W H Kohler, saving the industry
land and Spain, and planted in the Com- from disaster.
pany Gardens. 1925 – Professor Abraham Perold suc-
1658 – Jan van Riebeeck plants 1 000 cessfully crosses Pinot Noir and Hermit-
vines on his farm, Boscheuvel, in what is age (Cinsaut) to create Pinotage, the first
today Bishops Court and Wynberg. uniquely South African grape variety.
1659 – Jan van Riebeeck, wrote in his 1955 – The viticultural and oenological
diary on 2 February: “Today, praise be to research institute Nietvoorbij is founded
God, wine was made for the first time on the outskirts of Stellenbosch.
from Cape grapes...” 1959 – A semi-sweet white wine called
1678 – The town of Stellenbosch is es- Lieberstein, launched by SFW, revolutio-
tablished by Jan van Riebeeck’s succes- nises wine-drinking habits in SA and,
sor, Simon van der Stel. by 1965, is the single biggest-selling
1685 – Some 10 000 vines are planted branded wine in the world.
on Simon van der Stel’s farm on the 1961 – The first-ever Pinotage (a 1959
slopes of the Steenbergen – now called vintage from Lanzerac) is commercially
the Constantiaberg, in what is today the released.
ward of Constantia. 1971 – The founding of the Stellenbosch
1688 – Fleeing religious persecution in Wine Route, the first of its kind in SA.
France, a group of 150 Huguenots ar- 1973 – Wine of Origin legislation insti-
rives, settling in the Drakenstein valley tuted.
which subsequently becomes known as 1990 – Nelson Mandela is released,
the Fransche Hoek (Franschhoek today). paving the way for increased acceptabil-
1761 – Constantia wines are exported to ity of South African wine abroad.
Europe and earn great acclaim by 1788 1992 – The KWV quota system is
for their sweet and luscious nature. scrapped.
Sales stimulated by shortages due to the 1994 – South Africa becomes a democ-
Seven Years War (1756–1763). racy. Wine exports are less than 50-mil-
1822 – 10% of all wines consumed in lion litres but start to take off.
Britain are South African. 1997 – KWV is registered as a private
1886 – Phylloxera discovered on vines company.

SA Wine Guide
SA Wine Guide