Don’t miss the chance for your label to shine! Entries for the Label Design Awards 2020 are now open. Visit Winemag.co.za to view details for the three label categories: wine, beer and spirits and complete the entry form.
Sauvignon Blanc is South Africa’s fourth most widely planted variety with 9 533 ha in the ground, the equivalent of 10.2% of the national vineyard. Unwooded examples made for early release have been hugely successful in commercial terms, but some can be accused of being a little simple. How to build greater complexity?
Chardonnay is an extremely important category within the South African wine industry – it is the seventh most widely planted variety with 6 660ha in the ground, the equivalent of 7.16% of the national vineyard and because of its well established credentials around the world, the best examples are able to demand a price premium and ensure profitability that so often eludes producers.
Though a notoriously difficult grape to work with, Pinot Noir is capable of making red wines of greatness when matched to the right site. It is at its most glorious in Burgundy, France but there are today impressive examples from Oregon in the USA, New Zealand’s South Island and increasingly South Africa. At the end of 2018, it was the 12th most planted variety locally making up 1.3% of the national vineyard.
