south african wine

"The New York Times a couple years back asked with climate change taking place, where would you buy your Burgundies, your Chardonnay Burgundies, if you weren’t able to buy them from Burgundy anymore. And they actually identified Elgin as a potential growing area for that."

"Each vine needs to be considered on its own. So we rather call it sculpting than pruning. Cause it's like an old age home and each person has got a different context and history and requirements." André Morgenthal

"These old vines were able to survive the test of time. And with the roots being so deep in the soil and all the sandy soils, they were able to reach that last bit of reserves of water and maintain themselves where a young vine would have struggled." Schalk Opperman

"We've spent the last 20 years really refining the ethos. And that is site-specific, single-terroir, single-vineyard in some cases, wines of character and immerse drinkability." " Jacques de Klerk Radford Dale

'People have become more wise from a viticultural point of view and then learning to stand back in the cellar. So, if I look at South African wines over the last 10 years, there’s been a monumental shift in quality. It’s insane." Duncan Savage

Chris Mullineux is one of group of young winemakers who discovered underappreciated old bush vines in the Swartland and helped to develop the region into the international critical success it enjoys today.

“Traveling around the world, we have seen a lot of curiosity around Pinotage. When well made, it is an extremely food-friendly crowd-pleasing wine.” -José Condé, general manager of M.A.N. and Lievland wineries

"We went to the awards function, and to get into the hall and you see that there's only two black people who are here at the function, and the rest of the black people we are seeing are the waiters and waitresses." South African Winemaker Ntsiki Biyela

The Constantia and Stellenbosch regions in South Africa are best known in the United States but there are some lovely artisanal and affordable wines from smaller regions worth seeking out.

Education Director for the Guild of Sommeliers Master Sommelier Matt Stamp looks to islands and gorges for exciting wine and gives tips to future somms.