Calling itself “the company of wine people”, Welmoed is a South African Wine Co-operative with a broad portfolio. Welmoed is still housed in a wine farm that dates back to 1690, halfway between Stellenbosch and the False Bay. Welmoed has released the following on the company’s blog.
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Well known German wine blogger, Dr. Christian Schiller, recently visited South African and amazed by the quality, beauty and rich history of South African Winelands.
He had the following to say about the South African wine history.
“It all began in 1655, with wine seedlings from Europe, ordered by the commander of the newly formed station of the Dutch East India Company – the largest company in the world at the time – at the Cape, the Dutch surgeon Jan van Riebeeck. He knew that for the long ship journey from Europe to India around the Cape of Good Hope, wine was better than water as the latter often got rotted in the barrels, causing the dangerous scurvey for sailers. Four years later, in 1659, Jan van Riebeeck made his first wine in South Africa.
Before the arrival of the European settlers, African tribes had settled in the area. Today, the most influential African tribes are the Xhosas (the most famous Xhosa is former President Mandela) and the Zulus (the most famous Zulu is current President Zuma).
Among the European settlers were former sailors, adventurers and people who left Europe for religious reasons. The latter included the French Huguenots who had fled to Holland to escape religious persecution. Many of them settled in Franschhoek and brought wine-making know how to the Cape region.
Another mile stone in the wine history of South Africa is the pioneering work of the Boer Governor Simon van der Stel. He founded the famous Constantia Estate that is viewed as the nucleus of the South African wine industry.”
Located in Stellenbosch, the farm of Welmoed was first granted to Governor Simon van der Stel in 1690. Over the years, many great wines have been produced in the Welmoed cellar. Read more about Welmoed’s history .
South African wine has a rich history stretching over 350 years
February 24th, 2011 | Author: Bivio
Source: schiller-wine.blogspot.com
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Here is the initial posting on schiller-wine:
New World Wine Producer South Africa
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