The Western Cape's wine regions stretch 300 kilomers (185 miles) from Cape Town to the mouth of the Olifants River in the north, and 360km (220 miles) to Mossel Bay in the east. Areas under vine are rarely more than 160km (100 miles) from the coast.
The Western Cape's wine regions stretch 300 kilomers (185 miles) from Cape Town to the mouth of the Olifants River in the north, and 360km (220 miles) to Mossel Bay in the east. Areas under vine are rarely more than 160km (100 miles) from the coast. Further inland, the influence of the semi-arid Great Karoo Desert takes over. The climate can be cool and rainy (as in Cape Point and Walker Bay) but is more often than not Mediterranean in nature.
The city of Cape Town serves as the epicenter of the Cape Winelands, a mountainous, biologically diverse area in the south-western corner of the African continent.
A wide variety of wines are produced here. Wines from the Shiraz and Pinotage grape varieties can be fresh and juicy or full-bodied and gutsy. The Western Cape's elegant, ageworthy Cabernet Sauvignon wines and Bordeaux Blends were at the vanguard as exports recommenced in the mid-1990s, while Burgundy-style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Walker Bay are gaining global acclaim, and cool-climate style Sauvignon Blanc from Darling and Overberg is rivaling that made in any other New World country.
