The history of the vine in South Africa can be traced to 1652, when Jan van Riebeeck of the Dutch East India Company founded Cape Town and established its first vineyard.
The first wines of the colony, derided by contemporaries for their “revolting sourness,” emerged seven years later to sustain sailors bound for the East Indies on the long ocean voyage. But with the arrival of French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in their homeland in the late 1680s and early 1690s came a new wealth of winemaking knowledge. The Huguenots settled between Paarl and Stellenbosch in a region that became known as Franschhoek (meaning “French Quarter”) and established vineyards. Around this same time, Governor Simon van der Stel’s Constantia estate eclipsed the modest winemaking tradition of his predecessors and introduced sweet Vin de Constance, then called the "governor's wine," to the world. This wine would be coveted throughout the courts of Europe and holds its prestige even now, over 300 years later. Founded near Cape Town in 1685, Constantia—now a ward of the Coastal Region—was divided into three estates upon van der Stel’s death in 1712. In 1778, Groot Constantia, one of these estates, was sold to Hendrik Cloete, who renovated the property and brought international acclaim to the wines.
South African wines flourished under British colonial rule, but in the latter half of the 19th century, powdery mildew and phylloxera struck. Compounding the industry’s misfortunes, the British finally abolished preferential tariffs in 1861, renewing competition with French wines. In the absence of such tariffs, Cape wines—often heavily treated with sulfur dioxide and fortified with poor brandy—simply
Under the Coastal Region, the wording is a bit confusing regarding the introduction of Cape Town. "The region is subdivided into eight districts: Stellenbosch, Cape Town, Paarl, Tulbagh, Darling, Franschhoek Valley, Wellingtonand Swartland. Another district, Cape Town, was introduced in 2017 and contains the wards of Constantia, Hout Bay, as well as Durbanville and Philaldephia which were previously included under the now-repealed Tygerberg district." Cape Town is already listed as a district, and then it says: another district, Cape Town, was introduced in 2017... Also, the map on the page does not reflect the changes.
Not major, but it is a bit confusing to read. Thank you!!
Jacob Conn Boberg exists solely for fortified wines from Paarl, Tulbagh, Wellington, and Franschhoek Valley. The compendium page lists all 6, Boberg just doesn't have a dedicated page: www.guildsomm.com/.../963.western-cape
Can someone clarify this for a discussion I'm having with my theory group. Based on the the guildsomm study guide the "Western Cape has 6 regions: Coastal Region, Cape South Coast, Breede River Valley, Klein Karoo, Olifants River, and Boberg. " From the guildsomm compendium it lists 5 regions under Western Cape. The only one that's not listed is Boberg which falls under Paarl. Also the maps from WOSA doesn't mention Boberg or have it on the map a key region. The question is that should we have 6 major regions or 5 major regions.
Due to WOSA, both Tygerberg and Cape Peninsula has been repealed May 2017. So now it it "only" 7 districts of Coastal Region
The correct answer to question 7 in South Africa expert review questions is now Cape Town, not Cape Peninsula - as of May 2017.