The Western Cape is home to the vast majority of the South African wine industry, and the country's two most famous wine regions, Stellenbosch and Paarl. The city of Cape Town serves as the epicenter of the Cape Winelands, a mountainous, biologically diverse area in the south-western corner of the African continent.
A wide variety of wines are produced here. Wines from the Shiraz and Pinotage">Pinotage grape varieties can be fresh and juicy or Full-bodied and gutsy.
The Western Cape's Elegant, ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignon wines and Bordeaux Blends were at the vanguard as exports recommenced in the mid-1990s, while Burgundy-style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Walker Bay are gaining global acclaim, and cool-climate style Sauvignon Blanc from Darling and Overberg is rivaling that made in any other New World country.
The Western Cape's wine regions stretch 300 kilomers (185 miles) from Cape Town to the Mouth of the Olifants River in the North, and 360km (220 miles) to Mossel Bay in the east. Areas under Vine are rarely more than 160km (100 miles) from the coast. Further inland, the influence of the semi-arid Great Karoo Desert takes over.
The climate can be cool and rainy (as in Cape Point and Walker Bay) but is more often than not Mediterranean in nature.
The Western Cape is littered with spectacular mountain ranges that form the Cape Fold belt. These are extremely important for viticulture across the whole region, contributing soils and mesoclimates ideal for the production of premium wines. Of particular importance are the Boland Mountains, which form the eastern border of the Coastal Region, and the Langeberg range, which separates the Breede River Valley from the Klein Karoo semi-desert.
The white Chardonnay is a grape variety that originated in France (Burgundy). It produces a variety of grape specially used for wine making. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by small bunches, and small grapes. White Chardonnay can be found in many vineyards: South West, Burgundy, Jura, Languedoc & Roussillon, Cognac, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Savoie & Bugey, Loire Valley, Champagne, Rhone Valley, Armagnac, Lorraine, Alsace, Provence & Corsica.
natural sweet wines from the region of Western Cape go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, mature and hard cheese or lamb such as recipes of beef stew with white wine, cucumber skin julienne or fillet of lamb in potato dressing.
Felix Debavelaere, from Domaine Rois Mages mentions the different personnalities of the Rully appellation. It is not easy to put it in a single box, not only because it can be produced in red and white but also because the wines can show different characters according to where the vines are planted. This video is taken from the “Rendez-vous avec les vins de Bourgogne” program (February 2021). Our social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BourgogneWines Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bourgo ...
Clotilde Davenne, from the eponymous estate, mentions the cherry as a main characteristic of the Irancy appellation. She tells us about the Pinot Noir variety which reveals, in its northern location of Bourgogne, lots of freshness and fruitiness that gives the appellation a very special place among the wines of the region. This video is taken from the “Rendez-vous avec les vins de Bourgogne” program (June 2020). Our social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BourgogneWines Twitter: https: ...
The Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB) invites you to a survey above the vineyard of Morey-Saint-Denis, typical of the côte de Nuits region. Situated at the center of this region, the vineyard neighbours the appellation Gevrey-Chambertin to the north and Chambolle-Musigny to the south. Our social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BourgogneWines Twitter: https://twitter.com/BourgogneWines/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinsdebourgogne/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bivb ...
