The great wines of Southern Africa: now that the embargo is lifted, South African wines are making a strong comeback

Black Enterprise, May, 1995 by Eunice Fried

In a world replete with beautiful wine regions, Cape Province, South Africa, is one of the most exquisite. Vineyards dapple foothills. Mountains soar skyward wrapped in forests and topped with crowns of rock. Wineries are housed in gleaming white buildings with rounded arches and gabled roofs. To look at this bucolic scene, one would never suspect the scramble within this wine world as it shakes off the past and runs to catch tomorrow. But scrambling it is, and the effort shows.

While the sun never set on Cape wines, it did go behind a cloud during apartheid and sanctions. South Africa continued to make wine--as it has for over 300 years--but isolated from the rest of the world, innovation came pretty much to a halt.

No longer. Today South Africa has programs to improve the quality of its vines and new technology to improve its winemaking. Close to 100 wines are now available in the U.S. And South Africa's small, independent wineries are making some of the country's most interesting wines.

One of the first to see the promise in his country's wines was Jabulani Ntshangase, a black South African wine wholesale distributor in New York. Soon after Nelson Mandela's release, Ntshangase and Andre Shearer, a fellow South African, who is white, formed Cape Classics, an import company devoted solely to high quality South African wines. With elections came "euphoria," says Ntshangase. "If we have a problem now, it's that we represent small wineries with limited productions, and their wines are selling so well, we're running out."

Of South Africa's white wines, the most exceptional is Sauvignon Blanc. It is, in fact, one of the finest examples of that wine made anywhere in the world. And the most exceptional of all is Mulderbosch, an elegant, well-balanced, silky textured, tangy flavored wine. Also outstanding is the crisp, well-focused Neil Ellis Sauvignon Blanc. Highly rated too are Backsberg, La Motte, Plaisir de Merle and Uitkyk (pronounced ate-kake).

South Africa produces a red wine that is uniquely its own. Called Pinotage, the grape was developed in South Africa in 1925 by crossing Pinot Noir of Burgundy with Cinsault of Cotes du Rhone grapes. Pinotage grapes make a medium-bodied wine. The fruity, often plummy aroma becomes a smoky, occasionally tarry bouquet in maturity. Look for KWV Cathedral Cellars, Backsberg and Bellingham.

Ken Onish, whose company, Cape Ventures, imports South African wines exclusively, sees Pinotage as the country's signature wine. "It's very appealing, modestly priced and delicious," he says.

South Africa also makes impressive Shiraz--a firm, intense, spicy; peppery red wine. Notable labels are those of Lievland, La Motte and Rust en Vrede. The country also produces a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. But far more striking are the wines made from a blend of these red grapes. Most distinguished are Rozendal Farm, Rubicon of Meerlust, and La Femme Bleu and Trilogy, both from the Warwick Winery.

Most South African wines range from $5.50 to $25 in price, with many of the best costing $8 to $14 per bottle. Not bad for wines that have spent long years waiting in the wings. At last, South Africa is making its presence known again.