In a country whose climate is so propitious for the production of concentrated, rich red wines, it may come as a surprise to learn that no less than 82 per cent of the vineyard was planted with white varieties as recently as the late 1990's.

That picture rapidly changed over the following decade, as the Cape began to win plaudits for its Bordeaux style blends and Shiraz, and there is now virtual parity between reds and whites. As for red grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon has come on in leaps and bounds.

For a while, South Africa was burdened with rather inferior clones of Cabernet, meaning that its varietal wines from that grape often tasted oddly weedly, unclean and rubbery, but better clonal selection has now transformed it.

It is often blended Bordeaux style with Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Merlot itself is making some gorgeously intense, plummy reds on its own. Shiraz is coming up on the inside track, a real contender to match some of the pedigree Shiraz of Australia, and there are increasing quantities of quality Pinot Noir. Smatterings of Gamay and Zinfandel may produce interesting reds in time.

Some of the most popular South African red wine grapes are - Pinotage, the controversial signature grape of the Pinot Noir. The ever-popular New World grape variety of Pinot Noir does perfectly well in South Africa, even though it’s still currently one of the lesser grown varieties of the Merlot. Another major player when it comes to New World red wines, Merlot is a Bordeaux variety which has also found a happy home in South Africa.