Stellenbosch University is the only one in South Africa offering professional degrees in both viticulture and oenology. Informal teaching in these two subjects started in 1889 but the Department of Viticulture and Oenology was formally opened only in 1917, with Professor A. I. Perold as chair. The university has been an important influence on the Cape wine industry over the decades, and continues to produce most of the Cape’s leading viticulturists and winemakers. The town is also home to the Agricultural Research Council’s ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij Institute for Horticulture, Viticulture, and Oenology; and the College for Agriculture and Oenology at nearby Elsenburg. Stellenbosch University is also home to the Institute of Wine Biotechnology.
