Few countries have had as fraught a wine-producing history as South Africa. Things got off to a running start with Constantia, the sweet wine that became the darling of royals and intellectuals for much of the 18th and 19th centuries. But waves of economic and social calamity saw much of that early promise squandered, and the 20th century was, generally speaking, a dim time. Chronic overproduction led to the domination of co-ops, and one in particular, the KWV (Ko-operatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika in Afrikaans, or Cooperative Winemakers Union of South Africa), grew to monopolize the industry. Due to its close political ties, the KWV’s reign became especially potent during the apartheid years, a period when embargos from much of the rest of the world left the wine industry to flounder in isolation.
Things turned around rapidly after apartheid ended in the early 1990s—but the seeds of change had already started rooting. In the 1960s and ’70s, an increasing number of private estates had begun attracting attention with their high-quality wines, and this movement gained momentum across the 1980s. These producers and winemakers fought against the complacent establishment and lobbied for things like access to better vine material and the right to develop new viticultural areas. As a result, by the time of the first non-racial democratic election in 1994, the KWV had already softened many of
In the section on Méthode Cap Classique, the text 'and is the home Graham Beck' should read 'and is the home of Graham Beck'.
Thanks for these notes, Michael. I will update shortly.
Also a note on the paragraph about the Northern Cape Geographical Unit: It looks like Central Orange River was promoted from Ward to District (and has 5 Wards within it).
Just a note to strike Lamberts Bay from the paragraph on "Western Cape Districts & Wards Outside of Demarcated Regions," since it was moved to the Coastal Region.
Good catch, Mark, and our apologies for this mistake! I just made the change. Thanks for pointing it out.
In the section for Swartland there is the following; "This region is regularly 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) less than the inland area, with chalk-rich soils that produce nervy, saline wines." While a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius indeed 50 degrees Fahrenheit, a difference of 10 degrees Celsius is 18 degrees Fahrenheit. e.g. 10 degrees Celsius = 50 degrees Fahrenheit, 20 degrees Celsius = 68 degrees Fahrenheit. It never stuck out before when I've read this section, but this time it did as 50 degrees Fahrenheit is a huge difference.
This was posted on the forum, but I wanted to include it here so it is easily accessible. The below is a link to a former version of the Guide, complete with original commentary and questions.
https://www.guildsomm.com/research/expert_guides/b/expanded_guides/posts/south-africa#07
The original version of the expanded guide that I passed in was lacking in that it didn't address issues of racial inequality, abuses, or highlight current Black-owned businesses and empowerment initiatives. That's completely on me and I apologize. It is obvious to me now that the story of South African wine is incomplete without examining these concerns.
Thank you to the GuildSomm users who pointed this out, and to the staff who amended the Guide to include reference to these issues (the Guide was posted a few months after I had already left GuildSomm).