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Introduction to South African WinesSouth Africa is an amazing country. The sun shines a lot, the sky is mostly blue and our diversity of cultures has prompted our reputation as a truly 'rainbow nation'.Down south of the country at the very tip of Africa you will find our famous wine country. Marked by mountains and rolling vineyards, the Cape winelands are breathtaking in their beauty and blessed by a long winemaking heritage. The Dutch East India Company first planted grapes at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 and three centuries later, wine still forms an important part of our historical landscape. The Dutch had almost no wine tradition but once the French Huguenots settled at the Cape between 1680 and 1690, the wine industry began to flourish. Their culture and skills left a permanent impression on our wine industry, and on life at the Cape, especially in the Franschhoek valley that still has a distinctly French flair. But it is not only our long history that makes our wines great. We have the perfect climate for wine grapes - long hot summers and cold wet winters. We also have some of the oldest soils on earth and our varied topography across our winemaking regions makes the Cape unique in its diversity. This all adds up to what is known as great 'terroir' - that's all the natural wonders that only nature can control. Since 1994, South Africa's return to peaceful democracy has seen a renaissance in the Cape winelands. Today, we are well represented with world-class wines in some of the most competitive wine markets in the world, and with a reputation of great quality that over delivers on price. South Africa is known as 'new world' although our wines really do strike a perfect balance between classic restrained old world grace and full blown new world fruit expressions. This is our point of difference. This is what sets us apart from other new world power houses in the Southern Hemisphere. Californian winemaker, Zelma Long, describes the South African wine Industry as 'a sleeping giant, now awakening'. People the world over are discovering Cape wine at its best. And it doesn't come better than this. After all, this is the southern tip of Africa, where Table Mountain presides over the changing tides and times of one of the most beautiful places on earth. Hospitality is an instinct that gets served up in generous portions along with our fine wines. This same instinct lies in the spirit of the vines that provide the distinctive character of Douglas Green to a world that appreciates variety and recognizes the art in every moment of life. |
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