Moments in Wine: Australia, New Zealand & South Africa
With wine histories measured in centuries rather than millennia, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand may not have been in the game as long at their European counterparts, but they have all more than made their mark on wine making. Learn about some of their key moments in wine below.
South Africa
1659: South Africa's first grape harvest
The Dutch East India Company founds a re-supply station in what is now Cape Town in 1652. Administrator Jan van Riebeeck plants vineyards soon afterwards to produce fruit and make wine. The first grape harvest in what is now South Africa takes place on 2 February 1659.
1685: Constantia Wine Estate established
Van Riebeeck’s successor, Simon van der Stel, purchases a 750-hectare estate outside Cape Town in 1685, with the aim of making wine. In doing so he founds the Constantia Wine Estate that persists to this day.
19th century: Europe took note of South African wines
During his final exile on St Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte is known to have grown partial to the sweet wine produced at the Constantia estate, Vin de Constance. The wine was famous in the 19th century, being referenced in works by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Charles Baudelaire among others.
1918: KWV founded to curp wine glut
4. The Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt (KWV) is founded in 1918 in response to a growing wine glut. It will become a dominant legislative force in the South African industry for nearly 80 years.
1925: Pinotage created
In 1925 Abraham Perold, a Professor of Viticulture at Stellenbosch University, cross pollinated Pinot Noir and Cinsaut to create Pinotage.
Australia
1788: First fleet brought vine cuttings to Australia
The first vine cuttings were brought to Australia (from the Cape of Good Hope) on the First Fleet in 1788. It takes time to establish vineyards, however, and little wine is made domestically until the 1820s. Vineyards are established in Hunter Valley in 1830.
1833: James Busby brought knowledge and varieties from Europe
In 1833, James Busby returns from a long tour of Europe in which he has paid particular attention to viticulture and winemaking. He is considered as one of the founders of the Australian wine industry as he also introduced many of the European varieties grown in the country to this day.
1837: Barossa Valley marked for viticulture
In 1837, Colonel William Light leads a surveying mission in South Australia. They name one valley, Barossa, after a British victory over the French in Spain in 1811. A few years later, in 1841, Silesian German immigrants are offered passage to South Australia to bolster the colony. They settle in Barossa and establish the first vineyards there.
1951: Max Schubert made the first vintage of Grange
The Australian wine industry begins to pivot away from brandy and fortified wine production in the 1950s. In 1951, a winemaker at the Penfolds winery, Max Schubert, makes a red table wine aimed to rival the great wines of Bordeaux. Despite an early hiccup, Penfolds Grange will become one of Australia’s most famous labels.
New Zealand
1819: Earliest vines planted
Early vineyards in New Zealand include those planted by Samuel Marsden in 1819, James Busby (of Australia fame) in the 1830s and French missionaries in Hawkes Bay in 1851. The latter, Mission Estate Winery, still exists and is the oldest in the country.
19th century: Croatian migration brought wine making demand and knowledge
Viticultural projects remain limited until the arrival of Croatian immigrants (largely from Dalmatia) in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. But a strong Christian temperance movement and economic depression means wine remains a niche industry.
1973: Sauvignon Blanc planted for the first time
Sauvignon Blanc was first planted in New Zealand in 1973 in the Marlborough region, imported from France.
1984: Vine-pull introduced to manage over-planting
In 1984, growing domestic and international interest in wine leads to over-planting. However, a government vine-pull initiative leads to many growers switching out hybrids and varieties such as Müller-Thurgau, for higher quality grapes such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.