South Africa: Vine varieties

In South Africa, a vine variety is usually known as a cultivar, and South Africa is a cultivar-conscious wine country. Regional wine characteristics are still not sufficiently defined to challenge grape variety as the determining factor for quality, style, and even labelling and marketing of a wine, although increased vine age and a greater focus on site are beginning to change this. While white varieties used to dominate South African vineyards, the post-1994 transformation of the wine industry has seen premium red varieties reach virtual parity. Chenin Blanc was for long the most planted variety in South Africa, and still comprises 18% of the national vineyard. From the 1980s, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay were energetically planted and by 2012 comprised 9.5% and 7.9% of all plantings respectively. Other major white wine grapes include, in decreasing quantity: Colombar(d), Muscat of Alexandria, Sémillon, and Viognier.