The Dutch ship's doctor and merchant Jan Anthoniszoon van Riebeeck (1619-1677) landed in the bay at the foot of Table Mountain on 6 April 1652 on behalf of the Dutch East India Trading Company and founded a colony, today's South Africa. His mission was to establish a supply station on the way to India. First the "Fort de Goede Hoop" was built, from which the name of the Cape of Good Hope was derived. Then the cultivation of fruit and vegetables was started. Riebeeck also dealt with the dreaded seafarer's disease scurvy and looked for a cure. He wrote a letter to his homeland and asked for vines. The reason was that at that time wine was considered an effective preventive against scurvy. The cuttings from Germany (from the Rhine) arrived in South Africa in 1654 and were sewn into small packets of damp canvas. But the first attempt at South African viticulture failed, because the vines had taken root early in the damp canvas and were spoiled.
One year later he received a colourful assortment of cuttings from Bohemia, France, Spain and Germany. With this the first production of South African wine was achieved, a very modest amount of 15 litres. On 2 February 1659 Riebeeck noted in his diary "that today, thank God, wine was pressed from Cape grapes for the first time". The first vines from which wine was made were Muscat Blanc (from France). But also the varieties Muscat d'Alexandrie (here Hanepoot) and Chenin Blanc (here Steen) were already in the first shipment from Europe. Since neither Riebeeck nor other settlers understood much about viticulture, no good quality wines were produced. This only succeeded with the governor Simon van der Stel (1639-1712), who founded the famous Constantia winery in 1685.
Jan Riebeeck: By Anonymus, Home, Public Domain, Link
Arrival at the Cape: By Charles Davidson Bell , Public Domain, Link
