Wine farming has long been seen as a speciality of the Western Cape in South Africa, however plans are now afoot to establish a thriving wine industry in the north, specifically in KwaZulu-Natal.
Enterprise iLembe, the economic development arm of the iLembe District Municipality, is working with The Stables Wine Estate, a wine farm located in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, to promote the area as a new wine farm destination.
About The Stables Wine Estate
KwaZulu-Natal was designated as a new wine of origin area in 2005, at the same time as The Stables Wine Estate was registered by its owners the Van Niekerk’s as the first wine farm in KwaZulu Natal.
The following year, the Van Niekerk's released the first certified KwaZulu-Natal wine of origin wine, made from grapes purchased from Bracken, Greytown.
The Stables Wine Estate consists of 27 hectares of vines - eight in Nottingham Road and 19 in Greytown. The wines being produced from the grapes of these vines have already won medals, proving that quality wines can be produced in KZN.
A grape suitable for KZN
The Stables Wine Estate has now identified a grape cultivar, Villard Blanc, which it says is ideal for the coastline of KwaZulu-Natal. The Villard Blanc grape is resistant to humidity, hence it will not rot with the rainy, humid summers experienced in KwaZulu-Natal.
The grape, which is grown prolifically in South America, produces a wine similar to a fruity Sauvignon Blanc.
The wine laws of South Africa currently state that all grapes must be grafted onto rootstock, which Villard Blanc is not. However, the law is in the process of being amended to allow for this vine to be imported and planted in the more humid areas of South Africa.
A wine farm industry offers more than a good drink
The development of a wine industry in KwaZulu-Natal offers substantial employment to the region, in both agriculture and tourism, as there will be co-operative wineries for visitors and tourists to taste these wines.
The Stables Wine Estate estimates that if KwaZulu-Natal had 10,000 hectares (equivalent to just 10% of the Western Cape’s area) of planted vines, the direct employment generated would be around 70,000 permanent jobs and 30,000 seasonal jobs.
These figures do not take into account the impact on peripheral industries such as packaging, bottling, chemicals and logistics, or spin-off industries such as tourism, hotels, restaurants and tour guides etc.
iLembe identified as the next wine region
The Stables Wine Estate has expressed interest in planting vines in the iLembe Municipal region. It is believed it is possible to achieve success in this region as grapes are grown successfully in Jordan and Kuwait.
In fact these countries achieve two to three harvests a year, as opposed to the traditional single annual harvest.
For more information about the establishment of a wine farming region in KwaZulu-Natal, and how you can get involved with this new and burgeoning industry, contact the Enterprise iLembe:
Kanyi Gasa - CEO
Email Address: enterprise@ilembe.gov.za
Tel: +27 32 946 1256
