South Africa is among the ten largest wine-producing countries in the world, and its wine history is bound up with a varied cuisine where European, Asian and African traditions all meet.
Wine
The country's oldest wine estate, Groot Constantia near Cape Town, was founded by governor Simon van der Stel back in 1685 and remains one of the most visited today. Other celebrated Winelands names include the family-run Spier near Stellenbosch and the historic Boschendal in the Franschhoek valley. South Africa's signature variety is Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut, bred in 1925 by Professor Abraham Perold at Stellenbosch University.
Gastronomy
Braai — grilling over an open fire — is an inseparable part of South African life, with its own public holiday and an unwritten etiquette. In Cape Town you can taste Cape Malay cuisine — spiced bobotie or sweet koeksisters, a legacy of the Bo-Kaap community. Traditional Black South African cooking is represented by pap, a thick maize porridge served with spicy chakalaka or grilled meat.
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