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"Tim James combines the necessary cool eye and warm heart as successfully as any wine writer, making him the ideal guide to the new South Africa. Critical, knowledgable, and passionate, erudite, eloquent, and lucid, he finds the gold at both ends of the rainbow, explaining the past and illuminating the present with a light but very sure touch. This is the book on South Africa for which wine lovers have been waiting."--Neil Beckett, editor of
The World of Fine Wine"Tim James knows the Cape wine scene as well as anyone and far better than most local journalists. He brings an academic's rigour to his research, but he's a hedonist, too, reveling in the best wines. South Africa is lucky to have such a well informed advocate."--Tim Atkin MW
List of contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Wine and the New South Africa
2. A Brief History of South African Wine to 1994
3. Grape Varieties and Wine Styles
4. Wine of Origin: Legislation, Labels, and Terroir
5. Constantia and the Cape Peninsula
6. Stellenbosch
7. Paarl and Wellington
8. Franschhoek
9. Durbanville to Darling
10. The Swartland
11. Breede River Valley
12. Walker Bay and Cape Agulhas
13. Elgin and Overberg
14. Tulbagh and Ceres
15. Olifants River, West Coast, and Cederberg
16. Klein Karoo and Adjacent Wards
Appendix
Bibliographic Notes
Index of Wineries
General Index
About the author
Tim James is a certified Cape Wine Master and freelance wine journalist. He is the regional consultant on South Africa for The World Atlas of Wine. His work appears in South Africa's Mail & Guardian, Classic Wine magazine and in The World of Fine Wine.
Summary
Sought after by European aristocrats and a favorite of Napoleon Bonaparte, the sweet wines of Constantia in the Cape Colony were considered to be among the world's best during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa began to re-emerge onto the international wine scene.
Additional text
"With academic precision and the enthusiasm of a true wine lover, James discusses the science, culture, and history of South Africa's most celebrated grape varietals and wine styles. Readers will come away with a clear understanding of the country's wine terroir and climate, as well as a new appreciation for South Africa's burgeoning wine industry."
