South African Wine Grape Varietals
Just as the wildlife industry has the Big Five, the South African wine industry boasts the Big Six, which refers to the cultivars: Pinotage, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Jan van Riebeeck planted the first vineyard in South Africa in 1655 and the first wine was made four years later. On 2 February 1659 he wrote in his diary 'Today, praise be to God, wine was pressed from Cape grapes for the first time.’ Interestingly, Pinotage is the only wine cultivar that originates from South Africa. SouthAfrica.co.za provides factual information on the country’s many variants of grapes.
Barbera is a red wine grape variety primarily used for the production of table wines, but also in Northern Italy for the production of sparkling wines. Scientists have so far been...
moreBukettraube is an aromatic white cultivar originating in Germany from a hybrid of Sylvaner and Trollinger grapes. Ripening very late in Germany and susceptible to powdery mildew...
moreCabernet franc is a black-skinned wine grape variety used for the production of red table wines. It is believed to be one of the oldest red wine varieties still in production, with DNA...
moreCabernet Sauvignon is a red wine variety that developed out of a spontaneous crossing between Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc. It is associated with some of the world’s most expensive wines....
moreCape Riesling is an old white grape cultivar originating in France, but it is mostly planted in Australia and South Africa. It is planted in South Africa as Crouchen Blanc due to confusion...
moreCarignan is black skinned wine grape variety primarily used to produce blends and single varietal wines. The parentage of the variety is uncertain....
moreIt is easy to grow, which is why it has become one of the most widely grown white grape varieties in the world: from France’s cold Champagne region to South Africa’s warm Western Cape hinterland, from England to Chile to Bulgaria....
moreChenel is a white neutral tasting wine grape that is a South African-developed cross developed by Prof Chris Orffer. The parents of Chenel are Chenin Blanc and Ugni Blanc (also called Trebbiano)....
moreChenin blanc is a white wine variety used for the production of table wines, sparkling wines and fortified wines, such as port, sherry and brandy. It is the most widely planted wine...
moreCinsaut noir is a wine grape variety primarily used for the production of red and rosé wines, but also brandies and port. DNA analysis has indicated that it might be an offspring of...
moreA very old white wine grape that dates back to the 1500s, it was widely planted in the south of France and used in sparkling wine production, but also as a table grape variety....
moreColombar is a white wine variety better known for the production of distilled wines, such as brandy and cognac. It is one of the most planted varieties in South Africa and was...
moreCreated by the UC Davis in 1948 from a cross between Muscadelle and Riesling, Emerald Riesling is a white grape cultivar that was intended to produce grapes that exhibit Riesling...
moreGamay noir is a black wine grape variety traditionally used for the production of easy drinking red table wines. It developed from a cross between Pinot noir and the ancients...
moreGewürztraminer is a mutation of the Roter Traminer wine grape grown in Germany for centuries. The mutation ‘Gewürtztraminer’ was selected for its floral and spicy perfumed...
moreGrenache Blanc is a white wine grape that originated in northern Spain from where it spread to France to become the fourth most planted vine in France. Grenache Blanc is...
moreGrenache noir is a flexible grape variety, used for the production of red, sparkling, sweet and fortified wines. Its parentage is unknown. The variety seems to have originated in Cariñena...
moreMalbec is a wine grape variety used for the production of red wine. It developed from a crossing between the ancient varieties, Prunelard noir and Magdelaine noire des Charentes....
moreMerlot is a red wine variety that developed from a crossing of Cabernet Franc and Magdeleine Noire des Charentes. The variety’s name derived from a Bordeaux word that...
moreMourvèdre is a dark coloured wine grape variety used for the production of red wines. DNA analysis established that the varieties known as Mataro, Monastrell and Mourvèdre are one...
moreMuscadel in South Africa refers to the Muscat de Blanc à Petite Grains variety, which when translated means white Muscat with little berries. It is regarded as one of the oldest...
moreMuscat d’ Alexandrie is a versatile white grape variety, best known for the sweet wines it produces. It is a derivative of the Muscat family. A pink berried version exists, known as...
moreNebbiolo is a red grape variety associated with some of the world’s best aged red wines. It seems to have derived its name from the Italian word, nebula, meaning mist or fog, either...
moreNouvelle is a South African white wine grape developed in 1964 by the late Professor Chris Orffer of the Stellenbosch University by open-air hybridization in the vineyards....
morePetit Verdot is a black grape variety, traditionally used in Bordeaux-style blends. Its name means “the little green one” in French, referring to difficulties in getting berries to develop...
moreA robust red grape that produces full-bodied red wines that were developed in the 1880s by Dr Francois Durif from a Syrah Peloursin cross. Popular in California, Petite Sirah is also...
morePinot gris and Pinot blanc are colour mutations that have developed out of Pinot noir. The main difference between the varieties is that Pinot noir berries are black-skinned, while...
morePinot noir is a black wine grape variety associated with some of the world’s most expensive still and sparkling wines. The name, derived from the French words that mean “pine”...
morePinotage is a red wine variety that originated in South Africa. It is also grown, albeit in small quantities, in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United States...
moreRoobernet is a red grape developed in South Africa in the 1960s by Prof Chris Orffer by crossing Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet. Similar to Pontac, Roobernet is a...
moreRoussanne is a white wine variety originally from the Rhône wine region in France. The name is probably derived from the French word ‘roux’ (red) as it refers to the reddish...
moreRuby Cabernet is a red wine variety developed in 1936 by Dr Harold Olmo from the University of California, through the crossing of Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon....
moreThe main red cultivar of Tuscany in Italy where the famous Chianti wines are produced. Sangiovese was the main ingredient in these wines, recognized by its round bottles in a...
moreSauvignon blanc produces white wines with distinct green and herbaceous flavours. The name means “wild white” in French and the variety is believed to be a descendant of the...
moreSémillon was one of the few varietals bought from the south west of France to South Africa by the French Huguenots around the 1690s. Today, it is still seen as one of the most...
moreShiraz is a red wine cultivar with distinct smoky flavour. It developed out of a crossing between the near extinct varieties, Dureza and Mondeuse blanche....
moreSouzão is a red wine variety from the Minho region in Northern Portugal typically used to make port-style wines (Duoro Valley) and red Vinho Verde (‘young wines’) in northern...
moreTinta Barocca is a red wine grape variety used for the production of fortified Port-style or dry red wines. It developed out of a cross between Marufo and Touriga Naçional....
moreTouriga Naçional is a red grape variety mostly used in the production of port-style blends, but more recently also for the production of dry red wines. Its parentage is unknown....
moreViognier is a white wine variety, genetically related to the Piedmontese grape, Freisa. The name is derived from the Celtic word vidu, which means wood....
moreWeisser Riesling is a white wine variety used to produce sparkling wines as well as light fruity dry, semi-sweet and sweet still wines. It is seen as the king of German vineyards....
moreA red wine grape that originated in Croatia, Zinfandel has been very popular in California since the mid-1900s and can produce deep intense red wines or a rosé-style white....
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