The South African winemaking traditions date back to the 17th century and the country, with nearly 8.3 mln ha, is ranked among top ten leaders in the world’s wine production
It is in the “Dark Continent” where climatic and topographic conditions stimulate the grapes maturing process to help them reach their exeptional quality and taste values,which enormously effect the specific character of South African wines. Thus, the list of all excellent wines from this part of the world is long.
South African production accounts for 3% of the world’s wine.Out of every 4900 winery owners only 100 use their own vinification methods and the number of those who bottle their wine themselves is even smaller. Most of the harvest, 80%, is provided by the cooperatives, and 2/3 of the best grapes are used for juice production or different type of alcohol purposes.
One of the largest and most significant wine producers on the African continent is SWARTLAND WINERY with winemaking traditions from 1948. The SWARTLAND wineries’ perfect location makes it possible to grow a wide range of varieties (nearly 10,000 tons yearly), from which wines of excellent quality and flavour are produced.
