How we South Africans love to have a whipping boy when it comes to grape varieties; these troublesome children just don’t behave as they should and do elsewhere.

Sauvignon blanc was probably the first variety to suffer after it hit the headlines back in the 1980’s. Le Bonheur Blanc Fumé 1983 and Klein Constantia Sauvignon Blanc 1986 set the ball not so much rolling as into a spin. Everyone started planting it, everywhere without being aware of the soils and climatic conditions the vine prefers.