MAJOR GRAPE VARIETIES - SOUTH AFRICA

Grape	Vineyards
Chenin Blanc	18.7%
Cabernet Sauvignon	13.1%
Colombard	11.4%
Shiraz	9.6%
Sauvignon Blanc	8.2%
Chardonnay	8.0%
Merlot	6.7%
Pinotage	6.2%

WINES OF SOUTH AFRICA

Since the 1990s, interest and plantings of red grape varieties have been steadily on the rise. In the late 1990s, less than 18% of all the grapes grown in South Africa were red. By 2003 that number has risen to 40% and was still trending upwards. For most of the 21st century, the high yielding Cinsaut was the most widely planted red grape variety but the shift in focus to quality wine production has saw plantings of the grape steadily decline to where it represented just 3% of all South Africa vineyards in 2004. In its place Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Pinotage have risen to prominence with Cabernet Sauvignon being the most widely red grape variety covering 13% of all plantings in 2006. Other red grape varieties found in South Africa include Carignan, Gamay (often made in the style of Beaujolais wine with carbonic maceration, Grenache, Pontac, Ruby Cabernet, Tinta Barroca and Zinfandel.

There is a wide range of lesser known groups that are used to feed the country's still robust distilled spirits and fortified wine industry. These grapes usually produce bland, neutral wine that lends itself well to blending and distillation but is rarely seen as varietal bottlings. These include Belies, False Pedro, Kanaän, Raisin blanc, Sultana and Servan. 

GRAPE VARIETIES - SOUTH AFRICA

In 2006, SAWIS (South African Wine Information and Systems) reported that the country had 100,146 hectares of vineyards, with about 55 percent planted to white varieties. Chenin blanc has long been the most widely planted variety, still accounting for at least one-fifth of all grape varieties planted in South Africa as of 2004 though that number is decreasing. In the 1980s and 1990s, interest in international varieties saw increase in plantings of Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. Other white grape varieties with significant plantings include Colombard (spelled locally as Colombar), Cape Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Hannepoot, Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Riesling and Sémillon. Both red and white mutants of Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains as well as Chenel and Weldra, two Chenin blanc-Ugni blanc crossings, are used for brandy distillation and fortified wine production. 

GRAPE VARIETIES - SOUTH AFRICA

Grape varieties in South Africa are known as cultivar, with many common international varieties developing local synonyms that still have a strong tradition of use. These include Chenin blanc (Steen), Riesling (known locally as Weisser Riesling), Crouchen (known as Cape Riesling), Palomino (the grape of the Spanish wine Sherry known locally as "White French"), Trebbiano (Ugni Blanc), Sémillon (Groendruif) and Muscat of Alexandria (Hanepoot). However, wines that are often exported overseas will usually have the more internationally recognized name appear on the wine label.  

WINES OF SOUTH AFRICA