South African Wine - Wine Regions

Wine Regions

As of 2003, South Africa was 17th in terms of acreage planted with the country owning 1.5% of the world's grape vineyards with 110,000 hectares (270,000 acres). Yearly production among South Africa's wine regions is usually around 10 million hL (264 million US gallons) which regularly puts the country among the top ten wine producing countries in the world. The majority of wine production in South Africa takes place in the Cape, particularly the southwest corner near the coastal region. The historical heart of South African wine has been the area near the Cape Peninsula and modern day Cape Town. This area is still of prominence in the industry being home to the major wine regions of Constantia, Stellenbosch and Paarl. Today wine is grown throughout the Western Cape and in parts of the Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape regions. The river regions along the Breede Valley, Olifants and Orange Rivers are among the warmest areas and are often the location of bulk wine production and distillation. The cooler climate regions east of Cape Town along the Indian coast, such as Walker Bay and Elgin, have seen vast expansion and development in recent years as producers experiment with cool climate varietals and wine styles.

Under the Wine of Origins legislation, wine regions in South Africa are divided into 4 classifications-geographical unit, region, district and wards. Below are some notable WOs.