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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. South Africa Online ® provides factual information on the country’s many variants of grapes.
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Barbera is a red wine grape variety primarily used for the production of table wines, but also in Northern Italy for the production of spark...
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Bukettraube is an aromatic white cultivar originating in Germany from a hybrid of Sylvaner and Trollinger grapes. Ripening very late in Germ...
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Cabernet 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 ...
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Cabernet Sauvignon is a red wine variety that developed out of a spontaneous crossing between Cabernet franc and Sauvignon blanc. It is asso...
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Cape Riesling is an old white grape cultivar originating in France, but it is mostly planted in Australia and South Africa. It is planted in...
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Carignan is black skinned wine grape variety primarily used to produce blends and single varietal wines. The parentage of the variety is unc...
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It 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 Champag...
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Chenel is a white neutral tasting wine grape that is a South African-developed cross developed by Prof Chris Orffer. The parents of Chenel a...
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Chenin blanc is a white wine variety used for the production of table wines, sparkling wines and fortified wines, such as port, sherry and b...
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Cinsaut noir is a wine grape variety primarily used for the production of red and rosé wines, but also brandies and port. DNA analysis has ...
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A 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...
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Colombar is a white wine variety better known for the production of distilled wines, such as brandy and cognac. It is one of the most plante...
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Created by the UC Davis in 1948 from a cross between Muscadelle and Riesling, Emerald Riesling is a white grape cultivar that was intended t...
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Gamay noir is a black wine grape variety traditionally used for the production of easy drinking red table wines. It developed from a cross b...
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Gewürztraminer is a mutation of the Roter Traminer wine grape grown in Germany for centuries. The mutation ‘Gewürtztraminer’ was selec...
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Grenache Blanc is a white wine grape that originated in northern Spain from where it spread to France to become the fourth most planted vine...
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Grenache noir is a flexible grape variety, used for the production of red, sparkling, sweet and fortified wines. Its parentage is unknown. T...
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Malbec is a wine grape variety used for the production of red wine. It developed from a crossing between the ancient varieties, Prunelard no...
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Merlot is a red wine variety that developed from a crossing of Cabernet Franc and Magdeleine Noire des Charentes. The variety’s name deriv...
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Mourvèdre is a dark coloured wine grape variety used for the production of red wines. DNA analysis established that the varieties known as ...
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Muscadel in South Africa refers to the Muscat de Blanc à Petite Grains variety, which when translated means white Muscat with little berrie...
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Muscat d’ Alexandrie is a versatile white grape variety, best known for the sweet wines it produces. It is a derivative of the Muscat fami...
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Nebbiolo 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 Italia...
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Nouvelle is a South African white wine grape developed in 1964 by the late Professor Chris Orffer of the Stellenbosch University by open-air...
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Petit Verdot is a black grape variety, traditionally used in Bordeaux-style blends. Its name means “the little green one” in French, ref...
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A robust red grape that produces full-bodied red wines that were developed in the 1880s by Dr Francois Durif from a Syrah Peloursin cross. P...
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Pinot gris and Pinot blanc are colour mutations that have developed out of Pinot noir. The main difference between the varieties is that Pin...
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Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety associated with some of the world’s most expensive still and sparkling wines. The name, derived f...
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Pinotage is a red wine variety that originated in South Africa. It is also grown, albeit in small quantities, in Australia, Brazil, Canada, ...
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Roobernet is a red grape developed in South Africa in the 1960s by Prof Chris Orffer by crossing Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet. S...
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Roussanne is a white wine variety originally from the Rhône wine region in France. The name is probably derived from the French word ‘rou...
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Ruby Cabernet is a red wine variety developed in 1936 by Dr Harold Olmo from the University of California, through the crossing of Carignan ...
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The main red cultivar of Tuscany in Italy where the famous Chianti wines are produced. Sangiovese was the main ingredient in these wines, re...
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Sauvignon blanc produces white wines with distinct green and herbaceous flavours. The name means “wild white” in French and the variety ...
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Sémillon was one of the few varietals bought from the south west of France to South Africa by the French Huguenots around the 1690s. Today,...
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Shiraz is a red wine cultivar with distinct smoky flavour. It developed out of a crossing between the near extinct varieties, Dureza and Mon...
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Souzão is a red wine variety from the Minho region in Northern Portugal typically used to make port-style wines (Duoro Valley) and red Vinh...
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Tinta 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 betw...
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Touriga Naçional is a red grape variety mostly used in the production of port-style blends, but more recently also for the production of dr...
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Viognier is a white wine variety, genetically related to the Piedmontese grape, Freisa. The name is derived from the Celtic word vidu, which...
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Weisser Riesling is a white wine variety used to produce sparkling wines as well as light fruity dry, semi-sweet and sweet still wines. It i...
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A red wine grape that originated in Croatia, Zinfandel has been very popular in California since the mid-1900s and can produce deep intense ...
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