SOUTH AFRICAN WINE

The Taste of New World Quality and Value - Old World History

At the southern tip of Africa, where Atlantic meets the Pacific Ocean at the foothills of Table Mountain, lies Cape Town, the gateway to the South African wine lands and one of the great wine capitals of the world. Here the cultures of Africa, Europe and the East have met and mingled for over 350 years, ancient and modern, rich in colorful history and culturally diverse.

The Cape has witnessed many momentous events in South Africa's history: the landing of the Dutch settlers in 1652, the British invasion during the Napoleonic Wars, and the rebellion into the interior known as the Groot Trek. This was where, in 1990, Nelson Mandela took his first historic walk to freedom, and four years later, that Archbishop Tutu described the new South African nation as 'the rainbow people of God'.

Today South Africa is a peaceful democracy, a vibrant and exciting country of enormous diversity. With a winemaking history dating back more than 300 years, the industry reflects the classicism of the Old World but is also influenced by the contemporary fruit driven styles of the New World. This rare combination makes for great value wines which are complex yet accessible, refined yet powerful, eloquently expressing the unique terroir, Climate, micro climates and people of the Cape.

With the advent of democracy, the opening of new markets and exposure to international trends, South Africa can now compete with confidence on the world wine stage and Vietnam as a country developing a strong wine culture is a key target for these exceptional wines.

CAPE WINE over 300 years of History

The Dutch East India Company set up a refreshment & trading station at the Cape in 1652 had one single aim: to provide fresh food to the company's merchant fleet on their voyages to India and surrounding areas. Jan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the Cape, planted a vineyard in 1655, and on 2 February 1659, the first wine was made from Cape grapes. The early Dutch settlers came with almost no winemaking tradition and suffered viticultural setbacks and it was only after the French Huguenots settled at the Cape between 1680 and 1690 that the wine industry began to flourish. The British occupation of the Cape, in addition to Britain's war with France, created a large new export market for Cape wines.

FACTS & FIGURES

SOUTH AFRICA'S WINE PRODUCTION AREAS (110,200 TOTAL hectares of vines):

CAPE POINT, CONSTANTIA, DARLING, DURBANVILLE, ELIM, KLEIN KAROO,LOWER ORANGE, OLIFANTS RIVER,OVERBERG, PAARL, PHILADELPHIA, ROBERTSON,STELLENBOSCH SWARTLAND, TULBAGH, WALKER BAY, WORCESTER

White varietals constitute 55% of the plantings for wine, the most widely planted red varietals is Cabernet Sauvignon, accounting for 15% of the total.

Shiraz now accounts for 9%, while Pinotage, which is indigenous to South Africa, represent 7%.

348500 people are employed both directly and indirectly in the wine industry, including farm laborers, those involved in packaging, retailing and wine tourism. In international wine production ranking, France leads with 20.9% of the total, Italy is second with 18.7%, Spain third with 15,1% and South Africa eighth with 3%

There are three categories of wineries

1] Estate wineries make wine only from grapes grown on their own land.

2] Co-operatives process the grapes of their farmer member shareholders co-operatives into wine - and press about 80% of South Africa's total harvest.

3] independent cellars and a number of wholesalers who buy in both grapes and wine, and make wine for bottling under their brand names, as well as making wine from grapes grown on their own wine farms.

Chef Don's wine tipping recommendations

2 exceptional Estate grown wines from Awarded Winemakers from Vine's new to Vietnam portfolio of South African Wines

Villierra Pinotage 2003

Pinotage is now very much in vogue and being a uniquely South African grape (a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut - originally called Hermitage) it is in demand on many overseas markets. The fruit used for our 2003 vintage came from largely old vines and oaked in American and French barrels for 12 months

Jordan Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Intense, with a complex fruit structure of green and red pepper, hints of star sweets and aromatic, herbaceous blackcurrant on the nose. This follows through on the palate, adding tropical fruit and a complex green fig minerality on the finish.

Donald Berger

Managing Director

Mobile: (+84) 913001359 - (+84) 904000801

Personal: donchef@vine-group.com