Rod Smith, Los Angeles Times, June 26, 2002
WINE: SOUTH AFRICA'S GRAND ENTRANCE
From the new South Africa come wines of international
distinction and a style all their own.
"Even six or eight years ago, most wine lovers were only vaguely aware of South African wines. Now, it feels as though the Cape region has come out of nowhere, fully formed and highly polished."
CAPE TOWN, South Africa
It is the geography that first inspires awe: a glittering
city rising from the sparkling Cape of Good Hope toward the imposing granite
edifice called Table Mountain. For miles around, the craggy landscape is
accented by vineyards basking in the ocean- tempered sun. It's dramatic combination
of history, sleek urbanity and superb natural surroundings puts Cape Town
among the world's handful of glamorous wine centers, with the likes of San
Francisco and Sydney, Australia.
It looks almost like a stage set-which is appropriate to the moment, as the
Cape wine community makes a grand entrance in the wine world.
And what an entrance! Even six or eight years ago most wine lovers were only
vaguely aware of South African wines. Now it feels as though the Cape region
has come out of nowhere, fully formed and highly polished. Suddenly, fine
South African wines are appearing on the best wine lists and wine shop shelves.
The Sauvignon Blancs, in particular, are stunning. More important, they are distinctive, with a combination of crisp acidity and ripe green fruit flavors that says "South Africa". Close behind are red wines of powerful richness and elegance, especially Shiraz (the Africans have adopted the Aussie term for Syrah) and Merlot-Cabernet blends. Wine enthusiasts are also beginning to appreciate Pinotage, a spicy, smoke inflected South African red from a grape created by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsault.
THE RICH VINES OF CAPE TOWN
"The unified commitment of South African wine producers to the common cause - selling their wine to the rest of the world - is astonishing. Not even Napa Valley, the most effectively marketed wine region in California, can match it."
The perception of immaculate birth is deceptive.
In fact, the Cape is one of the New World's oldest wine regions. Cape Town
was established in 1652, and the settlers began making wine shortly thereafter.
South African wines were well known in Europe during the next two centuries,
and would be established now as wines from California or Australia, if not
for the government's racist apartheid policy. Sanctions stifled the economy
for three decades. The wine industry was isolated from the rapid development
taking place in other wine regions. It was not until Nelson Mandela left
his cell at Robben Island in 1990 and was elected president in 1994 that
the South African economy revived. At that point, its viticultural industry
rejoined the greater wine world.
The global snub had been devastating. Still, the Cape wine industry has burst
forth with remarkable unity and focus, much like vines that yield extraordinary
wine after enduring a bitterly cold winter.
For example, virtually every South African wine is produced according to a protocol called Integrated Production of Wine, or IPW. Established in 1998, the IPW is not so much a body of regulations as an attitude toward environmentally friendly wine production. It aims to quantify an environmental ethic through guidelines for growers and winemakers that begin with soil preparation and extend through cultivation and cellar practices, all the way through use of recyclable packaging materials.
The IPW program can be seen as a collective,
home- grown version of international business certification programs. Virtually
the entire South African wine industry has voluntarily subscribed to IPW
- some 4,500 growers and 350 cellars representing more than 99% of production.
Another significant attitude that South Africans share is cherishing and
preserving grand old vines. As in California and Australia, most of their
old vineyards have disappeared over time. Typically, old plantings have only
survived through isolated efforts or neglect. Now the old vines have been
recognized for their patrimonial value.