There are vineyards all over Africa. Algeria and Morocco have been producing wines for decades, and modern winemaking has been set up in places like Zimbabwe and Kenya – in spite of the political problems of these countries, I guess. But it is at Africa’s southernmost point, in the Cape of South Africa, where the finest wines are produced.

South Africa has a history of winemaking spanning more than 350 years. It is a long history that reflects the country’s sad colonial and apartheid past but also its emergence into the modern wine world, as I discovered on a visit to the country a few years back.

The Dutch East India Company set up a trading station at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. Jan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the Cape, is credited with planting a vineyard.

It was only after the French Huguenots, having fled their homeland to avoid religious persecution, settled at the Cape between 1680 and 1690 that the wine industry began to flourish.

In most of the world's wine-producing regions, the biggest problem challenging producers is weather. In South Africa, it's been politics. During the nation's Apartheid era, international sanctions and a wine embargo directed against the regime blocked the flow of money, technology, and know-how to South Africa and kept its wines out of much of the rest of the world. Also, hampering wine quality was the KWV (cooperative growers association). From 1918 to 1988, this organization controlled grape production in South Africa and used its power to buy as much fruit as its members could grow. The emphasis was on quantity, rather than quality – and great volumes of wine were distilled into brandy.

Much credit for the stable democratic government that South Africa enjoys today goes to Nelson Mandela – who was imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against apartheid. Mandela was released in 1990 to lead negotiations that ended decades of racist white rule, then was elected president in South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994. When apartheid fell so did the embargo. Only then did South African wines begin showing up on US shelves. As one South African vintner told me, “Nelson Mandela has opened the world to us.”

South Africa now produces 2.9 percent of the world’s wine and ranks as number nine in overall volume production. Coastal vineyards, ideally situated on sea-facing slopes, have been replanted with quality varieties. Co-ops are giving way to family farms and smaller companies. Joint ventures and collaborations have sprung up.

The current South African government has done a great deal in a short time to bring necessary and often difficult reforms to the country's wine industry. A government and industry partnership called the South African Wine Industry Trust (SAWIT) was set up to help young black winemakers attend Stellenbosch University for bachelor's degrees in grape growing and winemaking. This new generation of winemakers (men and women alike) is talented - and passionate.

South African wines are better than they’ve ever been. The number of international accolades they are winning continues to grow year by year.

Backsberg Estate Chenin Blanc, Western Cape Backsburg is a three generation family property. In combating climate change, the winery has become the first producer in South Africa to gain Carbon Neutral status. Chenin Blanc has long been one of the main white varieties of South Africa. Formerly called “Steen” in this part of the world, it is used for everything from very dry white wines such as this one, to dessert wines and brandy.

Boschendal Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Coastal Region
The Boschendal Estate’s title deeds are dated 1685. The estate’s first owner, Jean de Long, was one of the party of 200 French Huguenot refugees granted land in the Cape of Good Hope by the Dutch East India Company. Sauvignon Blanc has become a favorite of South African producers. This dry white wine has flavors of citrus and passion fruit with subtle mineral tones and firm, but balanced acid.

Stormhoek Shiraz, Western Cape
Stormhoek Winery, in the Western Cape, was launched in 2003 with a mission to offer fresh, well-made wines. This complex Shiraz (same grape known in some parts of the world as Syrah) has spicy, sweet flavors with hints of tobacco, black pepper, and dark chocolate.