Put the pints down – here are the best South African wines to enjoy with the rugby
I was lucky enough to be one of the Murrayfield spectators watching the British & Irish Lions play rugby in Edinburgh last weekend in their warm-up game against Japan. I felt very envious of the players jetting off to a three-test match series and tour of South Africa, but from a wine and rugby point of view, thankfully, I didn’t try and follow.
Due to Covid-19, spectators are not allowed at tour games this year, a massive blow for both the rugby-mad Springbok supporters and the legions of fans that follow the Lions on every tour. Even more calamitously for the country, it has just gone back into lockdown – the fourth one President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has called since the start of the pandemic. And worryingly for the alcohol trade, there is a blanket ban on all alcohol sales in the country for two weeks.
While this may be the first-ever rugby tour where those participating may not be able to enjoy a post-match beer or glass of wine, mercifully, there appear to be no such restrictions on the export of alcohol. We can still enjoy a glass or two of South African wine while we watch the games on television.
This southern tip of the continent is a wonderful environment for viticulture; a Mediterranean-style climate of long, sun-drenched summers and milder, wet winters. According to the trade body Wines of South Africa, the country’s wineries produced just under 419 million bottles of wine in 2020. In the UK, we imported just over 26 per cent of these bottles, ranking us as their primary export destination and South Africa as the sixth most popular country we like to buy our wine from.
Back in 1665, the first vines were planted in the country, but it is over the last twenty-five years that South African wine has made huge strides in quality. This can be directly attributed to their openness in discussion and willingness as an industry to share best practices – a positive development possibly borne from the nature of dialogue of the post-apartheid era.
The “New Wave” of younger producers are sharing their trials and tribulations, offering their experiences and findings on everything from new farming techniques to how certain cultivars will react to particular weather conditions.
The famous “engine room” of the trade may be Stellenbosch, but the really exciting innovation in winemaking is coming from the Swartland area to the north of Cape Town, somewhere I’d encourage you to seek out when we can travel again.
The attitude of the new wave winemakers is collegiate as well as competitive. In the words of Eben Sadie of Sadie Family Wines; “competition is good because a rising tide raises all boats.”
Wines to enjoy while the British & Irish Lions play:
‘Secateurs’ Chenin Blanc AA Badenhorst – £13.25 from the Good Wine Shop
Sadie Siebritskloof Pinotage – £30.60 from Drinks & Co