Wine Tourism, New World Wines, South Africa

Flanked by the Indian and Atlantic oceans, surrounded by magnificent mountains, and enjoying an agreeable Mediterranean climate, South Africa’s Western Cape Province is home to the oldest wine-producing region in the Southern Hemisphere. The first wine was produced at the Cape of Good Hope (“the Cape”) in 1659 by the Dutch East India Company, which in 1652 had established a victualing station there for its passing ships. South Africa has seen a renaissance in both its winemaking and its tourism activity since the country’s transition to democracy in 1994. The ending of apartheid saw international sanctions lifted, international tourism increasing, and government-imposed restrictions on the wine industry eliminated.

South African Wine Industry Information & Systems (SAWIS) reports that there were 585 wine-producing cellars in South Africa ...