red wine

white wine
Wines of Africa
4309 Regency Drive
Glenview, IL 60025
toll free 866-203-9463
phone 847-544-5088
fax 847-635-6685





A Short History

It was the Dutch East India Company back in 1652 who first settled the Cape of Good Hope. Their aim was to establish a halfway house to provide food for their merchant fleet
on the long voyages from Europe to India and the Far East.

The man chosen to establish the settlement was Jan Van Riebeeck. As an ex-ships surgeon he believed that wine prevented Scurvy among sailors and he soon sent to Europe
for vine cuttings. In 1655 he was able to plant his vineyard and on the 2nd February 1659 he wrote in his diary "Today, praise be to God wine was pressed from Cape grapes
for the first time."

In 1679, a new governor, Simon Van Der Stel, took over the Cape. He was both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about wine and encouraged the Cape's
newly 'free burghers' to plant vines.

He appointed inspectors to improve vineyard practices and planted his own vineyards
at Constantia. These vineyards later produced the famous Constantia wines requested
by the exiled Napoleon on St. Helena and which were enjoyed by Russian Tsars
and in royal courts across Europe.

Van Der Stel was aided by the Huguenots, religious refugees who fled
from France in 1688. They brought with to the Cape first hand knowledge
of wine making and gave their name to the wine district of Franschhoek, meaning, 'French Corner'.

During the 18th Century, the Cape's wine industry flourished. The Napoleonic wars severed Britain's wine supplies
from France and South African wines flooded in to replace them.

In 1806 the British took over the Cape, wine exports increased still further and vineyards multiplied. Wealth came
to the wine farmers and during this period, many of the beautiful Cape-Dutch homesteads were built.

However, 1861 brought disaster. Britain finally resolved her differences with France,
and South Africa's wine exports collapsed. 1899 saw the beginning of the Anglo-Boer War, the wine industry was in chaos.

It was Charles Kohler who in 1918 set out to alleviate the situation. His efforts led to the creation
of the organization 'K.W.V.', an umbrella organization, which represented the Cape's 5,000 wine farmers.

Today almost 5,000 grape farmers cultivate approximately 100,000 hectares of vineyards, which are spread
through out the South Western Cape.

In the past, most wine was sold through domestic wholesalers. However, with the lifting of sanctions
and the opening up of foreign markets, rapidly increasing the quantities of South African wines being sold abroad.

All wine for export must be granted an export license. An official seal given to each bottle
by the Wine & Spirit Board which verifies that the claim regarding origin, vintage and grape variety are correct.

Copyright ©2002 Wines of Africa, Inc.
a division of Timberwolf Trading Company.

All rights reserved. No part
of this publication may be reproduced,
in any form or by any means,
without the express written consent
of the owners of Wines of Africa.