South Africa gets serious about great Grenache

‘Anything that moves goes for the Grenache,’ laughs Anthony de Jager of Fairview.

He’s referring to Klein Amoskuil, an organic bush vine block in the Swartland. ‘There’s no water in the area, and Grenache produces big berries, basically sacks of hydration for the birds and the bokke.’

The latter is the Afrikaans term for the duiker antelope. ‘They often chew the border vines right down to nubs; but the buck must have its share,’ says De Jager. In tribute he named the resulting wine Bok Amok.

Scroll down for Malu’s pick of South African Grenache

Now chief winemaker, De Jager has been at Fairview since 1996. The Paarl estate, owned by Charles Back, can largely be credited for reigniting interest in Grenache, with its tongue-in-cheek ‘Goats Do Roam’, a Southern Rhône-inspired blend.

When the 1998 maiden vintage was released, there wasn’t anything like it. The blends of the time were generally Cabernet Sauvignon-based blockbusters.

It was Paarl’s hot conditions that got the team thinking ‘Rhône’ – so they headed into the then unfashionable Swartland to prospect fruit for the early renditions.

The journey took them all the way into the altitudinous Piekenierskloof (ascents go up to 700m above sea level), where they found a bush vine block of Grenache planted in 1973. This made its way into the original Goats Do Roam.

The fruit now goes into Fairview’s Bloemcool Berg-en-Dal Oupa se Wingerd. Goats Do Roam is still going strong however, now a blend of Shiraz, Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault.

Grenache takes centre stage

Back in the late 1990s, Grenache was mostly used for bulk, lower-quality dry reds destined for the big wholesalers. That was until Johan Delport produced the first single-varietal Grenache bottling in 2001 for Citrusdal Cellars, previously Goue Vallei; and now called Piekenierskloof Wines.

Bizarrely, Goue Vallei was allowed to produce a wine called ‘Chianti’, a blend of Grenache and Cinsault. ‘I still remember the yellow label,’ recalls Delport. ‘Apparently, the cellar had official permission from the Italian Embassy to use the name.’

He says the blend became so popular they used to plant vineyards with alternating rows of the two grapes.

The shift to quality production came when the winery began selling juice to producers such as Fairview, as well as to Boekenhoutskloof for Chocolate Block. ‘Then everyone wanted in.’

Former rugby player for South Africa’s national team the Springboks, and the force behind Stellenbosch’s Vriesenhof, Jan Boland Coetzee believes Grenache was planted in the region as far back as the 1700s, citing a family legend that Napoleon favoured sweet wines made from it.

The story has been passed down through generations of Coetzees, whose roots in the Cape date back to 1679, with early settlements in both Stellenbosch and Piekenierskloof, where they are said to have introduced the cultivar.

Site-driven wines

‘It shows terroir more than any other grape,’ says Rudiger Gretschel. Production director for Vinimark and cellarmaster at Reyneke, Gretschel also has his own holding in the region, Swartberg Wingerde. ‘The secret is the altitude, which tempers the harsh, dryland conditions,’ he explains.

‘The older vineyards are mostly planted on alluvial, sandy soils – they can be quite light, in colour as well as in expression. Whereas the newer vineyards are on more structured, rocky soils and are correspondingly producing wines with more depth.’

Currently the Piekenierskloof is planted to 92.21ha of the grape. According to South Africa’s regulatory body SAWIS (South Africa Wine Industry Information and Systems) the total hectarage of the national vineyard lies at 579.01ha.

Hendrik Le Roux, a viticulturist at SAWIS says: ‘Over the last five years we can track that Grenache hectares are increasing and are outweighing uprootings.’

Paarl plantings are significant at 172.67ha, extending to the Swartland, where they total 150.17ha.

Grenache on the rise

The numbers are encouraging. Some of South Africa’s most exciting producers are realising the enormous potential of this climate-resilient grape variety, especially with the increasingly drier conditions.

While there is no official Grenache association (yet), a group regularly meets to benchmark top international versions, taste each other’s wines and swap ideas.

Among them are David Trafford and Charla Bosman (of Sijnn Wines); Tyrrel Myburgh of Joostenburg who produces an organic, small-batch Grenache; Elizma Visser of Olifantsberg; and Marelise Niemann of Momento Wines, arguably the grape’s most devoted champion.

Niemann makes the whole rainbow of Grenache: Blanc, Gris and Noir. Added to this she works across a variety of sites, namely the Swartland, Bot River, the Piekenierskloof and, for the 2025 vintage, the Breedekloof, bottling the soil types separately.

A harvest in Spain’s Priorat propelled her to start Momento. She explains that her aim was: ‘To create awareness of the potential that Grenache has in South Africa, and to get people to drink, and plant, more of it!’

Grenache may have once only played a supporting role in South African wine, but that’s no longer the case.

From old plots in the Piekenierskloof to new plantings across the Cape, this bush vine-suited, drought-resistant grape is stepping into the spotlight backed by a growing contingent of highly respected producers.

‘Hairy’ Grenache

Instigated by top vineyard consultant and Decanter Hall of Fame recipient, Rosa Kruger, in 2018 Garnacha Peluda was planted at Kloovenburg in the Swartland. Known colloquially as ‘Hairy Grenache’ it is a mutation of the cultivar that sports hairy leaves on the underside, which helps the vine cope with hot, dry conditions.

It is said to ripen a week earlier as well as have a fruitier profile and higher acidity than Grenache. In 2024, Kloovenburg produced the first blend of the two: 72% Grenache matured in old foudre, with 28% Garnacha Peluda aged in cement tank.

South African Grenache: 15 to try

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