Elgin

Around 70 kilometres east of Cape Town, surrounded on almost all sides by mountains, lies Elgin, one of South Africa’s youngest wine-growing regions and, by most measures, its coolest. For decades, it was known exclusively for its apples rather than its grapes, and this history of fruit-growing still influences the valley today.

Elgin only became a wine-growing region in 1990. Grapes had been grown here on a small scale since the 18th century, but the development of commercial viticulture was hampered by poor transport links, the area could only be reached via four steep mountain passes, as well as the KWV quota system, which, from 1918, controlled where vines could legally be planted and did not include Elgin on the list of authorised sites. In the mid-1980s, researchers from the state viticulture institute ‘Nietvoorbij’ established that the mountain-ringed Elgin basin, situated at an altitude of between 250 and 500 metres above sea level, has a cool climate with a slow ripening period, more characteristic of Burgundy than of the rest of South Africa. In 1986, farmer Dr Paul Kluver granted permission for the first commercial vineyards to be planted on his land, and a few years later Elgin was officially recognised as a wine-growing region.

This coolness is due to a combination of altitude, south-easterly winds and cloud cover, which keep daytime temperatures in check and extend the ripening period into later in the year, closer to autumn. This creates a significant difference between day and night temperatures, slowing down sugar accumulation and allowing the aroma, flavour and acidity to develop gradually. The soil here is also ancient, a mixture of Table Mountain sandstone and Bokkeweld shale, sedimentary rocks formed 375–500 million years ago; it is rich in minerals but poor in nutrients, which curbs excessive vine growth and forces the plants to direct more energy towards the fruit.

Today, there are around 850 hectares under vine, with Sauvignon Blanc being the most common variety, accounting for around 38 per cent of plantings, followed by Chardonnay (18 per cent) and Pinot Noir (17 per cent), as well as smaller quantities of Riesling, Shiraz, Viognier and other varieties. Much of the valley lies within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, South Africa’s first UNESCO-recognised reserve, designated in 1988, and the principles of sustainable development remain central to the work of the region’s winemakers.