The majority of South Africa's wine regions are located in the Western Cape,shown in the map above. The production of South African wine has started to grow since the end of apartheid in 1990s. From this many of the winemakers began to adapt new viticulture and winemaking technologies which has helped them gain a deeper knowledge about wine growing. They began flying winemakers over from other countries to share there experiences and knowledge on viticulture and winemaking technologies which helped rapidly speed up developments of wine production.

South Africa is situated at the south tip of the African continent. Most of the wine regions are surrounding the coastal areas of The Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The wine regions here have a Mediterranean climate with intense sunlight and dry heat, combined with winters which tend to be cold with rainfall and even snow upon the higher altitudes. The coastal currents from the Antarctica bring cool breezes to the regions closer to the coast, which takes the heat of the hot summer days.

The most famous wine regions are Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Constantia. However cooler regions like Walker Bay are starting to attract more attention.

This is where the first vineyards in South Africa where planted. The vineyards here are exposed to the cool sea breezes on the sides of the Constantia Mountain, but also due to Constantia’s shape the vineyards are exposed to the oceans cool breeze on both sides of the region. This breeze helps contribute to a long and slow ripening period. The soil here is made up of table mountain sandstone with concentrations of loan and granite. This region grows a wide range of grapes with Sauvignon Blanc coming out top.

The summers here are long and hot. The two popular growing vineyard areas are Franschhoek Valley and Wellington, and have regenerated interest in wine from the area in recent years. The Franschhoek Valley is enclosed by three towering mountains. Streams from these peaks flow down to the valley floor where they meet the Berg River. Wellington supplies over 90% of South Africa’s wine industry with cuttings and the wineries stretch over alluvial terraces or in the foothills of the Hawequa Mountains which create perfect growing microclimates. Paarl is known for its South African white wine but with its hot climate and steep slopes South African red wine is becoming more popular from here. Because of Paarls hot climate the best wines are from the higher vineyards.

Stellenbosch is east of Cape Town and the town is dominated by the university. It’s a popular tourist destination with wine routes and trails to be taken, combined with wine tasting and accommodation. Stellenbosch is South Africa’s second oldest wine region and is the country’s leading wine area and also home to the country’s leading estates. This region is surrounded by mountains and the nearby False Bay keeps the average climate cool, keeping the summer temperatures around 20 Celsius. The granite based soils in the east are great for the production of South African red wines, and the sandstone based soils in the west are best for South African white wines.

Walker Bay is a cool climate region and is constantly exposed to the cool sea breezes from the ocean. The soils here are described as weathered shales, and the sharp slopes are ideal for the cool climate growing vines. Walker Bay is rising in popularity and is now producing a great Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Recent movements show a promising development in Sauvignon Blanc.

Elgin is situated in the Overberg region of South Africa and is an up and coming wine region, which is mostly a fruit growing area. Elgin is a few degrees cooler than the other main wine land regions because of the regions altitude. Elgin is known for the production of high quality cool climate growing wines.

Robertson is located close to the Breede River Valley 120km east of Cape Town. In this hot region the river provides the soils with water which helps the vineyards. Robertson is known for its South African white wines including Chardonnay and Shiraz wine.

Other wine regions include Olifants River, Swartland, Durbanville, Tulbagh, Klein Karoo, Swellendam, and Lower Orange River.

Popular South African Wines white wines include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

Popular South African red wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, and Merlot.