Winegrowing area in South Africa with the city of the same name about 60 kilometers east of Cape Town. The district has no Wards and belongs to the Coastal Region. The town was founded by 200 Huguenots who were expelled from France in 1688. The name means "French Corner" or "French Angle" (formerly Olifantshoek, because elephants lived there). One year before, Dutch settlers under Simon van der Stel (1639-1712) had already built a 50-hectare farm there. Jacques (Jacob) de Villiers (1661-1735) planted vineyards and founded a wine-growing dynasty with his brothers, including the Boschendal winery. The French quickly adapted and after only one generation Afrikaans was spoken throughout.
The vineyards are located in a long valley protected on three sides by the Drakenstein mountain range. Rainfall is very high, at over 1,000 millimetres per year, so the climate is rather humid and relatively cool. Mainly the white wine varieties Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Chardonnay, as well as the red wine varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz(Syrah) and Pinotage are cultivated. Almost all of the wineries have French names. The most famous are Allée Bleue (formerly Mere Rust), Bellingham (Bellinchamp), Boekenhoutskloof, the historically important Boschendal, Cabrière, Haute Provence, La Motte, L'Ormarins and Von Ortloff. Franschhoek is also considered the gastronomic centre of South Africa.
Picture: From KlausF - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“