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No sooner had the final of the World Cup in Germany ended than a bad news story upset the friends of football and South Africa alike: The 2010 World Cup could not take place in the home of the charismatic Nelson Mandela, not in the fabulously beautiful landscapes of Africa's southern tip with its dream tourist destinations, due to a lack of transport and construction infrastructure; the USA and Germany would be ready in time if stadiums and transport routes could not be built, security could not be guaranteed and visitors could not be transported.

FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter felt compelled to make a public clarification a few days ago: The World Cup in southern Africa will take place, the first sponsors have been found(www.fifa.com) - and the financing of the stadiums? Almost 640 million euros have been approved by the South African government for the construction of new and the renovation of existing venues; after all, the decision to let the global, sporting and economically fascinating game take place on the African continent for the first time in the history of organised World Cups is too significant and far-reaching.

Football and wine?

But does the World Cup also have something to do with wine? Has German wine benefited from this major global event? FIFA paid dearly for the exclusive right to serve selected products with the FIFA logo in the VIP areas of the World Cup stadiums. More than 100,000 bottles from 55 German producers were delivered to the stadiums for 64 matches; a total of about two million bottles of World Cup wine were sold. According to Thomas Klaas, head of domestic marketing at the German Wine Institute DWI, "in addition to the considerable sales figures, the image-building effect that our commitment has had on German wine as a whole should not be underestimated. So our investment in the World Cup has more than paid off". Why shouldn't these effects also be felt in South Africa, why shouldn't the Cape wine region also benefit from the unique public interest that almost "automatically" applies to every nation hosting the World Cup?

The famous architecture of Dornier

As things stand, the 2010 World Cup is to take place in a country whose political liberalisation and democratisation have led to unprecedented economic dynamism. For what is now Africa's most industrialised country, international investors are being wooed for funds and bonds with the arguments that the destination is increasingly attractive, blessed with resource wealth and a stable financial system, regular economic growth and consistently low inflation, a growing middle class and excellent economic prospects due to an expected World Cup employment boom in the construction, tourism and retail sectors.

The economic dynamism is also matched by a cultural and socio-political dynamism: for example, the first book fair with large African and international participation took place in Cape Town on the 30th anniversary of the Soweto uprising
.
The Frankfurt Book Fair's "daughter" is expected to provide the platform for publishers, authors and readers in South Africa's steadily growing book market in the future and contribute to a greater reading culture. Another important facet of these upheavals is the movement of "Black Economic Empowerment" (BEE), which envisages an increased presence of the black majority in all levels of society - this also applies to the wine industry, which directly and indirectly employs more than 350,000 people, including wine tourism(www.suedafrika-wein.de).

Decisive decisions in viticulture

Old wine sales sign in Cape Town with the top qualities of the time
The worldwide media focus - and thus also the gaze of wine lovers - will thus be increasingly directed towards a wine nation that introduced a legal system of certified designations of origin (Wine of Origin) as early as 1973 and, above all, since the end of the apartheid regime and South Africa's increased presence in global markets (from 1991, gradual lifting of the economic sanctions imposed on South Africa by the USA and Europe, first democratic parliamentary elections in 1994), has taken decisive decisions in viticulture. These include the increasing use of cold fermentation in white wine production, clones from Burgundy and the Loire, and wooden barrels (barriques and larger measures) for the ageing of red wines and Chardonnays.

After the emancipation of the South African wine market from the cooperative KWV ("Kooperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging" in Paarl), which was founded in 1918 and regulated all wine-growing facets on a quasi-parastatal basis, the range of grape varieties, the structures of wine producers and wine production changed vehemently: the share of light table wines was gradually reduced; white wine production in particular declined continuously from year to year. Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay have become their qualitative flagships. Among the red wine varieties (share in 1994: 20 %, in 2004: 46 %!), it is mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc and Merlot for the Bordeaux blends, but also the steadily growing Shiraz share, Pinot Noir and the indigenous, fruit-driven cross "Pinotage" (from Pinot Noir and Cinsaut) that have contributed to the successful "internationalisation" of South African wine culture.

Concrete barrel cellar with barriques (Dornier)

Although South African viticulture today is still dominated by the hardy mass producer Chenin Blanc (gen. "Steen"), which accounts for just under a fifth of the total area planted with vines and in some cases has extreme yields (up to 350 hl!), there are still many other grape varieties.), it is the "Big Six" Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Pinotage, which stand for the connection to the qualitative top of the wine nations in the excellent single vinification, as Bordeaux or Cape Blends (with Pinotage).

The number of South African wine producers - more and more of them professionally trained in the wineries, at the Elsenberg School of Viticulture and the University of Stellenbosch, which now cooperates with the Geisenheim University of Applied Sciences - has also changed decisively: Whereas in 1985, for example, about 6,000 farmers, 100 local winegrowers' cooperatives, 50 private wine estates and 10 commercial wine presses were organised under the umbrella of the KWV, almost 20 years later only about 4,400 winegrowers are still active in winegrowing, while just under 560 enterprises (of which about 80 % are private winegrowers as well as cooperatives and commercial wine presses) are active in wine production. Compared to South Africa, Germany has about 60,000 winegrowers on an almost equally large vineyard area (approx. 103,000 ha planted) and almost the same production volume (approx. ten million hl) and thus an average farm size of only 1.5 ha compared to 25 ha in South Africa.

Wine Cape in good hope - the South African wine boom continues

Cellar with steel tanks from Rustenberg
And how do South African wines currently present themselves on the international market (in which Germany already ranks fourth as an import nation of South African wines)? Most recently, one could convince oneself of their diversity and quality at the annual hub of the international wine business, the "Prowein" in Düsseldorf, where South Africa - yesterday still an "emerging wine nation", today the eighth largest wine producer in the world - left a lasting impression. For example, the large advertising stands of CWD Champagner - & Wein Distributionsgesellschaft (Tornesch) with Mulderbosch, Hamilton Russel Vineyards, Boekenhoutskloof, Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons as well as Schlumberger Vertriebsgesellschaft (Meckenheim) with no less prominent estates - e.g. Allesverloren, Neill Ellis, Two Oceans, Zwalu - attracted trade visitors as fiercely swarmed South Africa tasting zones.

Importers like Rüdiger Lange, sales manager at South Africa specialist Klocke Weinimporte (Porta Westfalica), were optimistic: with the distribution of renowned estates like La Motte, Simonsvlei and Boschkloof, but also the current top estate "Kleine Zalze", the "signs still point to growth and expansion"; the "South African boom continues." "Julia Lübcke, PR manager at the two large distributors Mack & Schühle and Weinwelt (Owen/Teck, among others. Klein Constantia, Tukulu, Stellenzicht, Zonneblom): "Almost all Weinranges are growing - Plaisir de Merle in the on-top complementary range is also doing well", and Nederburg, with its Classic Range and Manor House Collection lines in the premium segment, is proving to be a "top brand" in the South Africa range in food retail.

Manor House of Groot Constantia

South African winemakers present, such as Lars Maack of Buitenverwachting (Constantia) or Alexander Baron von Essen, founder and owner of the top wine estate Capaia (Philadelphia), located north of Cape Town, were thoroughly satisfied: Maack "is happy to be here every time to present the new vintages" - this was especially true for one of his premium brands, the Sauvignon Blanc Constantia, whose current 2005 vintage convinced with its pronounced fruitiness and full-bodied structure. For Baron von Essen, too, the "public response was excellent": the visitors to his stand at Wein Wolf Import, which specialises in top wine imports, shared his enthusiasm for the Capaia 2005, which can still be tasted as a cask wine: the flagship in a classic Bordeaux cuvée presents "the best harvest so far" of this winery, which was only founded in 1997, with high concentration, dense spiciness and a long finish.

Wine boom, wine tradition and World Cup hopes at the Cape

Surrounded by wheat fields - the vines of Capaia - in the background, the estate's own water supply and Table Mountain.

In fact, Capaia, among estates such as Groot Constantia, Uitkyk and Rust en Vrede, is a "youngster" in the South African World Cup wine team: when the eighth Confederations Cup takes place in South Africa in 2009 as a sporting and organisational World Cup dress rehearsal, South African wine history will celebrate its 350th anniversary. After all, that is how long ago the first wine was pressed in the Cape on the "Wynberg" estate of Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of the Dutch colony on Table Mountain (1652). South Africa has a rich wine tradition, but also many experimental new estates equipped with high-tech and know-how. Together they form the basis for further successful wine prospects.

Basically, all that is missing now is a quality offensive in football: in four years, host country South Africa is automatically seeded as a participant, but the playing quality of the national team cannot keep up with the already boundless enthusiasm of the predominantly black fans. The team failed to qualify for the World Cup against Ghana, who played convincingly in Germany, and according to press reports during the World Cup "loves the beautiful game with tricks more than scoring goals". In the Cape, fans, players and officials are now living in hope that all stadiums will be completed on time and that the South African football honour will also be upheld by a coach who is as renowned and successful as possible. In any case, the line-up, training and respectable competition participation of the winemakers are already promising.

Selected sources of information on the wines of South Africa:

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The authoritative guide to the South African wine scene with an unsurpassed density of information is the annually published "Platter": "John Platter South African Wines, The Guide to Cellars, Vineyards, Winemakers, Restaurants and Accommodations", www.platteronline.com. Purchase: E.g. via the German representative body of the South African wine export organisation WOSA www.suedafrika-wein.de and in some wine departments of Kaufhof (!) - unfortunately not available in German bookshops.
-Unfortunately out of print, perhaps still to be found in modern antiquarian bookshops: The equally concise and informative introduction to "The Wines of South Africa" by Wolfgang Fassbender (Vinoteca series in FALKEN Verlag, 2000).
-In "The Wines of South Africa" (Heyne Verlag 2002), Cape Town wine expert and Platter contributor Wendy Toerien describes the diversity of Cape wines in representative portraits of wine estates; pictures and texts pay homage to the landscape and wine culture of South Africa.
-Jean-Pierre Rossouw's unconventional book "Mixed Case - a unique guide to the Cape Winelands" (Struik Publishers 2004, London, Cape Town, Sydney) combines expertise and wit: It assigns the 42 (top) estates discussed to "characters" such as "Grandes Dames", "Individualists" and "Big Hitters" - and explains the most important "jargon" terms "to help you if you're doing a quiz or want to silence a dinner party."

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