The cradle of South African wine dates back to the arrival of the Dutch in the 17th century. Jan van Riebeeck , a Dutch sailor, laid the foundation for viticulture in South Africa when he opened a supply station on the Cape in 1652. The oldest wineries , such as Groot Constantia and Vergelegen , were founded in the 17th century and are still important to the country's wine tradition today. Tulbagh , with its rich heritage, has contributed significantly to the development of South African viticulture. Historic wineries such as Drostdy-Hof and Theuniskraal reflect the pioneering days of viticulture in this region. February 2, 1659 is generally considered to be the birthday of South African wine, when Jan van Riebeeck documented the production of the first wine in the Cape in his diary with the following quote: "Today, praise to God, wine was made for the first time from Cape grapes." On this special day you will always be able to buy special wine offers from South Africa in the valleygrapes online shop .

The South African wine landscape is characterized by diverse grape varieties . Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay for white wines and Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz for red wines are the leading varieties. The industry has focused on a strategy with several pillars. In the production and distribution of the wines, we rely on high-quality bottled wines that are internationally recognized and on the so-called “bulk” wine. The bulk wine is filled into large steel tanks, exported to the target countries, bottled there and found on the shelves of large food retailers and discounters. Another important source of income for South African winegrowers is tourism , which is very local and is very important for smaller farms. A total of 270,000 people are employed in the industry, of which only 80,000 work directly on the wine farms or in the wine cellar. As the world's eighth largest wine producer, South Africa produced 10.3 million hl of wine in 2022. This will be in South Africa produced more wine than Germany, but slightly less than the New World countries of Chile, Argentina and Australia. More than 50% of South African wine is destined for export and the two largest importing countries are Great Britain and Germany.

The wine regions in South Africa are classified in a simplified hierarchy in the following order: geographical unit, region, district and district. The largest wine-producing geographical unit in South Africa is the Western Cape with five regions : Breede River Valley, Cape South Coast, Coastal Region , Klein Karoo and Olifants River. The most famous is undoubtedly the Coastal Region, which includes the renowned wine routes and districts of Stellenbosch , Franschhoek and Cape Town . The very well-known area of ​​Constantia in Cape Town is in turn a district of the Cape Town District. Tulbagh is a district that, like Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, is part of the Coastal Region. The wines within the Coastal Region differ significantly due to the very different climatic conditions, soils and cultivation methods, even though they are geographically close to each other.

Tulbagh was founded in 1700 as a place called Roodezand and was given its current name in 1795 after Ryk Tulbagh. Tulbagh is 800 meters above sea level and has around 10,000 inhabitants. The town of Tulbagh is for his Beautiful Cape Dutch architecture and has 32 national monuments in one street. The valley surrounding Tulbagh is surrounded on three sides by the Groot Winterhoek, Witzenberg and Obiekwaberg mountain ranges and is entirely agricultural. In addition to the ubiquitous vineyards in the Tulbagh district, there are many orchards and wheat fields. The soils in the valley are extremely variable. The area is characterized by extreme differences in day and night temperatures. Mountainous terrain creates numerous different mesoclimates that can be used to great advantage. Unique to the valley's geographical makeup is the 'cold trap', a phenomenon created by the enclosing horseshoe-shaped mountains, with Tulbagh lying north of the 'bowl'. In this bowl, once a prehistoric lake, the cold air of the previous night lies undisturbed. The result is relatively cool average daily temperatures. With today High-tech water management and advanced viticulture practices are slowly realizing the true potential of this area. There are currently around 12 wineries in this remote valley producing renowned wines, including Shiraz , Chenin Blanc and the "South African champagne" called Méthode Cap Classique.

valleygrapes brings you the Tulbagh Valley lifestyle and the opportunity to buy wines from South Africa in our online shop. We only sell online and exclusively wines from Tulbagh . Some winemakers and some wines are only available exclusively from valleygrapes . The region has grown close to our hearts and trusting cooperation with the winegrowers is important to us and we focus on the following values.