Wine Appreciation from
Grapes to Glass, Lecture 9:
Southern Hemisphere I:
Wines of South Africa
Australia, & New Zealand
South
Africa
30°S
45°S
Australia
Karin Limburg
NZ
Dennis Swaney
30°N
45°N
South Africa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_South_Africa_with_English_labels.svg
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South Africa wine region
South Africa wine region
– mainly Western Cape
Capetown
Capetown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:South_African_wine_regions.jpg
South African Wine Facts
A few names to
remember:
Constantia,
Stellenbosch,
Franschhoek, Paarl,
Walker Bay
http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/feature/out-of-africa
• Generally hot,arid climate inland (requiring irrigation), moderated
near the coast by upwelling and cooling coastal breezes (“The
Cape Doctor”)
• No native grapes
• Dutch Settlers brought V. vinifera vines with them and began
making wine as early as the 1660s
• Earliest grape cuttings came from “somewhere in western France”
(Robinson, 1994)
• Luscious “Constantia” dessert wines (muscat grape) became
famous in 19th century Europe – millions of gallons exported to GB
and elsewhere by the mid 1800s
• Phylloxera invasion in 1886; other grape pests included powdery
and downy mildew
• Soils vary enormously from sandy loams to clays from limestone
outcrops, granitic and sandstone “parent” rock
http://www.wine.co.za/Misc/Page_Detail.aspx?PAGEID=301
Robinson, 1994
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Capetown and Cape of
Good Hope
Groot
Constantia
Pinotage grape =
Pinot noir x
Cinseault grapes
Founded
1685
http://winections.blogspot.com/20
08/06/theres-chettah-in-mybottle.html
Originally famous
for luscious
dessert wines
(muscat)
Exported millions of
gallons to GB by the
1860s
South Africa’s
“own,” created
in 1925
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Stellenbosch – example of
a small, family-owned
winery, Muratie Winery
Chenin blanc or
“steen” – Loire Valley
(France) native,
abundantly cultivated
in S. Africa
Kanonkop – one
of the oldest and
best known,
good Pinotage
The name is derived from a kopje (hillock), from which a cannon was fired in the 17th Century,
to alert farmers in outlying areas that sailing ships plying the waters between Europe and the
Far East had entered Table Bay for a stopover at Cape Town.
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Wines of Australia
Conservationbytes.com
Briefly on Ozzie wine history
Australian Facts
• Generally arid climate in the interior,
moderated by the influence of the sea
near the coast
• Most of the population lives in a band
within a few km of the coast
• No native grapes
• British settlers brought vines with them
• First Fleet – the 11 ships which sailed from Great Britain
on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778
convicts. In October 1787, grapevines were obtained en
route at Cape Town, South Africa and carried to Australia
by the First Fleet to Sydney Town. The grapevines were
planted within a few days of arriving at Botany Bay
(Sydney) in January, 1788.
•1788, first permanent European settlers
•First Governor made wine
•Early winemaking was partly b/c deep-rooting
grapevines did better than many other crops in arid
climate
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Briefly on Ozzie wine history
•Earliest planted regions were some of the best sites
•Phylloxera hit parts of Australia in 1870s; damaged the
industry for nearly a century
Over 60
designated
regions
•Australian wine production through much of the 20th
century emphasized “stickies” (sweet, dessert wines, often
botrytized, made from semillon, muscat, tokay, etc), and
fortified wines like port
•Modernization started in 1960s; today Australians
consume much of the wine produced
•There are a few thousand producers, most very small
Wikipedia.com
Australian Varietal Plantings
Red grapes
Area planted (ha)
1992
2004
2008
5760
39,182
43,977
Cabernet Sauvignon
5465
29,313
27,553
Merlot
?
10,804
10,764
Pinot Noir
1256
4,424
4,490
Grenache
2000
2,292
2,011
Mourvedre
?
1,040
785
Other Red
?
11,235
10,902
White grapes
Area planted (ha)
Shiraz
1992
2004
2008
Chardonnay
5194
28,008
31,564
Sémillon
2860
6,278
6,716
Sauvignon Blanc
?
3,425
6,404
Riesling
3570
4,255
4,400
Other White
?
23,925
23,109
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_wine
New South Wales
Wikipedia.com
•Oldest area - Vineyards
established around
1830
•Hunter Valley most
famous area, farthest
north (warm, subtropical)
•Shiraz (“Hermitage”)
is the major grape;
also Pinot Noir,
Semillion,
Chardonnay
Jancis Robinson,Oxford Companion to Wine, 1994, Oxford
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion (2008 and 2010 Editions.)
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South Australia
– home to
some of the
best wines
Victoria and Tasmanian Wines
Barossa
Valley
Coonawarra
Hugh Johnson’s Wine Atlas
“terra rossa” soils –
red clays from
weathered
limestone
Victoria: Yarra Valley, Mildura, The Grampions
Similar to soils
found in Italy,
Spain, France
Tasmania: furthest south, coolest region
Penfolds Grange (Hermitage)
Western Australia
Margaret
River 
One of the finest
(and most expensive)
wines in the world!
Mostly shiraz, with some cabernet sauvignon
www.wine-region-tours.com
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New Zealand –
land where
there are more
sheep than
people.
North and South
Islands
Marlborough
region best-known
today – produces
wonderful
Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand wine facts
• No native grapes
• Missionaries brought grapes to NZ…vines first planted in
1819…wine produced in 1835
• Powdery mildew arrived in 1876/phylloxera in 1895
• Instead of the response of most regions, grafting V.
vinifera onto American rootstock, NZ initially adopted
American hybrid varietals (eg Isabella)
• Since the 1960s, these have been largely replaced with V.
vinifera
• Probably best known for its Sauvignon Blanc, though Pinot
Noir is on the rise
New Zealand wine facts
• Maritime climate strongly influenced by upwelling;
North Island warmer than South Island
• Effect of relatively cool climate shifts the balance
of fruit toward more acidity/less sugar
• Alluvial, stony soils (high rainfall/many rivers) of
both sandstone and limestone parent material
• Most of the population lives near the coast
Robinson, 1994
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_wine
Marlborough
region
Produces mainly
Sauvignon blanc,
but also
Chardonnay
WinesofNZ.com
Well-drained alluvial soils, plenty of sun, and cool nights
Robinson, 1994
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_wine
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Central Otago – southwestern
NZ (in the interior =warmer,
drier climate)
WinesofNZ.com
Most scenic, and rated as one
of top New World wine regions
(mainly Pinot Noir, Chardonnay)
Gisborne – northwestern
NZ; first wine region to see
the dawn of each new day
(Chardonnay, Gewurtztrminer)
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