Fynbos is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting of about 80% species of the Cape floral kingdom, where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it.
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of 129,449 square kilometres (49,981 sq mi), and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George.
Terroir is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these contextual characteristics are said to have a character; terroir also refers to this character.
Breede Valley Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2007, it had a population of 166,825. Its municipality code is WC025.
Worcester is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located 120 kilometres (75 mi) north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway north to Johannesburg.
Barrydale is a village located on the border of the Overberg and Klein Karoo regions of the Western Cape Province in South Africa. It was named after Joseph Barry, a well known merchant of the 19th century. It is situated at the northern end of the Tradouw's pass which winds its way through the mountains to Swellendam.
South African wine has a history dating back to 1659 with the first bottle being produced in Cape Town by its founder and gouverner Jan van Riebeeck. Access to international markets led to new investment in the South African wine market. Production is concentrated around Cape Town, with major vineyard and production centres at Constantia, Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester. There are about 60 appellations within the Wine of Origin (WO) system, which was implemented in 1973 with a hierarchy of designated production regions, districts and wards. WO wines must only contain grapes from the specific area of origin. "Single vineyard" wines must come from a defined area of less than 6 hectares. An "Estate Wine" can come from adjacent farms if they are farmed together and wine is produced on site. A ward is an area with a distinctive soil type or climate and is roughly equivalent to a European appellation.
Rawsonville is a small wine growing and farming community in the Breede River Valley of the Western Cape province of South Africa. The town forms part of the Breede Valley Local Municipality, and is located in a scenic portion of the valley on the eastern flanks of the Du Toitskloof Mountains.
Grabouw is a town located in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Grabouw is located some 65 km south-east of Cape Town, over Sir Lowry's Pass from Somerset West, along the N2 highway.The town is the commercial centre for the vast Elgin Valley, the largest single export fruit-producing area in Southern Africa, which extends between the Hottentots-Holland, Kogelberg, Groenland, and Houwhoek Mountains. The town's population has grown rapidly, with 44 593 people in 2019 from 21 593 as listed by the 2001 census.
Somontano is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines, created in 1984, and located in the county of the same name, in the province of Huesca,. It borders the regions of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza in the North, Hoya de Huesca in the West, the Monegros in the South, and the region of Litera in the East. Wine production is centred on the town of Barbastro. The name Somontano, as its Latin roots suggest, means “beneath the mountain” – this perfectly defines this geographic area which spreads out from the foothills of the Pyrenees down to the Ebro valley. The DOP includes 43 municipalities, most of them in the Somontano area, and a few bordering on Ribagorza and the Monegros. There are over 4000 hectares of vines and about 500 individual grape-growers.
Western Cape is a Geographical Unit within the Wine of Origin classification system of South African wine. Corresponding to the province of Western Cape it includes most of the vineyards in South Africa.
The Stags Leap District AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within the Napa Valley AVA 6 miles (9.7 km) north of the city of Napa, California. The Stags Leap District was the first appellation to be designated an AVA based on the unique terroir characteristics of its soil. The soil of this region include loam and clay sediments from the Napa River and volcanic soil deposits left over from erosion of the Vaca Mountains. Like many Napa Valley AVAs, Stags Leap District is particularly known for its Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1976 at the Judgment of Paris wine tasting, the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet from the area that would become this AVA won first place in the red wine category, beating out classified Bordeaux estates. Today, the Stags Leap District is home to twenty different wineries.
Breede River Valley is a region of Western Cape Province, South Africa known for being the largest fruit and wine producing valley in the Western Cape, as well as South Africa's leading race-horse breeding area. It is part of the Boland bordering on becoming Little Karoo towards the east.
Calitzdorp is a town on the Western side of the Little or Klein Karoo in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and lies on South Africa's Route 62.
The El Dorado AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in El Dorado County, California, United States. Wine grape growers in the region produce a large diversity of varietals, notable varietals are Zinfandel, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah and there are significant plantings of Rhône varietals. Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, vineyards are found primarily at elevations between 600 feet (183 m) and 3,500 feet (1,067 m) above sea level and some of the historic and revered vineyards are planted above 2,000 feet (610 m) elevation. The region benefits from the cool breezes that come off the mountains and push hot air off the vines and down to the valley. The soils of the region are magma based with high levels of acidity.
The wine regions of South Africa were defined under the "Wine of Origin" act of 1973. Mirroring the French Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) system, all South African wines listing a "Wine of Origin" must be composed entirely of grapes from its region. The "Wine of Origins" (WO) program mandates how wine regions of South Africa are defined and can appear on wine labels. While some aspects of the WO are taken from the AOC, the WO is primarily concerned with accuracy in labeling. As a result, the WO does not place adjunct regulations on wine regions such as delineating permitted varieties, trellising methods, irrigation techniques, and crop yields.
Kobus Marais is a South African politician, Member of Parliament with the Democratic Alliance, and the current Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.
Touws River is a small railway town of 6,800 people in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is located on the river of the same name, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) north-east of Cape Town. The Touwsrivier CPV Solar Project is located just outside of the town and supplies 50 MW to the national electrical grid.
Boushey Vineyard is a grape-growing estate located in the Yakima Valley AVA, north of Grandview, Washington. Grapes grown in the vineyard have been used to produce some of the most critically acclaimed Washington wines with the name Boushey regularly being featured on vineyard designated wines. Paul Gregutt, wine writer for the Seattle Times and Wine Enthusiast, list Boushey as one of the "top ten" vineyards in the entire state. The vineyard is owned and managed by viticulturist Dick Boushey who was honored in 2002 by the Washington State Wine Commission as Washington's "Grower of the Year" and in 2007 by Wine & Spirits as their "Grower of the Year". After Red Willow Vineyard, which was planted with David Lake and Mike Sauer, Boushey was one of the first Washington wine growers to plant Syrah. Today, Boushey Vineyard is considered by wine experts such as Jon Bonné to be "One of the state's top Syrah spots" with many Washington Syrahs made from Boushey's grape receiving critical acclaim.
Robertson Karoo is a semi-arid vegetation type, restricted to sections of the Breede River Valley, Western Cape Province, South Africa. It is a subtype of Succulent Karoo and is characterised by the dominance of succulent plant species, and by several endemic plants and animals.
