Wine-growing area (district) in South Africa, which belongs to the Coastal Region. It is bordered by the Helderberg with the town of Somerset West to the south and the Simonsberg to the north-east. There are seven Wards Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch. Stellenbosch is named after the town, which lies 50 kilometres east of Cape Town. It was founded in 1679 by the second Dutch governor Simon van der Stel (1639-1712) and named after him; the name roughly means "Stel's bush". Today Stellenbosch is considered the South African wine capital. The Wine&Spirits Board (state wine control authority), an agricultural college for the training of South African winegrowers and the Oenoligical and Viticulturual Reserach Institute "Nietvoorbij" with experimental vineyards and laboratories, where the tastings for the "Wine of Origin" classification take place, are located here.
The town is also home to the headquarters of the Stellenbosch Farmer's Winery. A wine route worth mentioning runs through the sub-regions of Greater Simonsberg, Stellenbosch Mountain, Helderberg, Stellenbosch Hills and Bottelary Hills. The lovely hill country is one of the most scenic areas in South Africa. Sandy soil predominates in the west and weathered granite in the east. The vineyards cover over 17,000 hectares. Two thirds of them are planted with the red wine varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz (Syrah), Merlot, Pinotage, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, and one third with the white wine varieties Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Colombard, Sémillon and Hanepoot (Muscat d'Alexandrie). There is sufficient rainfall here even in the summer months, which is why, unlike most other wine-growing regions in South Africa, hardly any artificial irrigation is required. The climate, which is influenced by the nearby Atlantic Ocean, is particularly well suited for red wine varieties, which is why Stellenbosch is considered the red wine region of South Africa.
Well-known wine estates are Alto Estate, Beyerskloof, Clos Malverne, Delaire, De Toren, De Trafford, Distell, Dornier, Eikendal, Ernie Els, Ken Forrester, Grangehurst, Hartenberg Estate, Jordan, Kanonkop Estate, Kanu, Le Bonheur Wine Estate, Lievland Estate, Meerlust Estate, Meinert, Morgenhof, Mulderbosch, Neil Ellis, Neethlingshof Estate, Overgaauw, Rust en Vrede Estate, Rustenberg, Saxenburg, Simonsig, Stark-Condé, Stellenzicht, Thelema Mountain, Tokara, Uiterwyk Estate, Vegenoegd Wine Estate, Vergelegen, Vlottenburg, Vriesenhof, Warwick Estate, Waterford, Welmoed, Zevenwacht and Zonnebloem.
By Dave Bezaire & Susi Havens-Bezaire - flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
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