Terroir 2004 banner
IVES 9 IVES Conference Series 9 Geological history and landscape of the Coastal wine-growing region, South Africa

Geological history and landscape of the Coastal wine-growing region, South Africa

Abstract

The geology of the Western Cape testifies to the former existence of a late Precambrian supercontinent, its fragmentation, the closure of an ocean between the South African and South American continental precursors (Kalahari and Rio de la Plata cratons), the accumulation of marine sediments and limestones, and their compression during a collision between these cratons. This event took place during assembly of the southern supercontinent of Gondwana, over 500 million years ago. During the Cambrian the landscape of the western and southern parts of the Cape was eroded to form an alluvial plain with granite hills. From the Ordovician to the Carboniferous this plain intermittently subsided. The resultant Agulhas Sea, which at times extended from Vanrhynsdorp in the north to beyond Port Elizabeth in the east, and which was bordered by mountains to the west and north, received considerable volumes of sediment. These sediments were lifted and folded during the Permo-Triassic Cape Orogeny to form the mountains of the Cape Fold Belt, which are capped with erosion-resistant sandstones, whilst softer shales are locally preserved in downfolds.
After Gondwana rifted, a remnant of the Rio de la Plata craton remained attached to South Africa where it underlies the vineyards of the Coastal Region. Erosion was rapid under the warm, wet conditions which prevailed through much of the Cretaceous. By the end of the Cretaceous the main topographic features of the Coastal Region had already been roughed-out. Sculpting of the landscape into its modern form took place during the Tertiary and Quaternary, a time of sub-aerial erosion, pronounced changes in sea level and climatic variation, tending toward increasing aridity. The form of the modern landscape reflects the abilities of the rock structures and materials to resist protracted weathering and erosion.

Download the PDF

DOI:

Publication date: January 12, 2022

Issue: Terroir 2004

Type: Article

Authors

J. Wooldridge

ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, Private Bag X5026, 7599 Stellenbosch, South Africa

Contact the author

Keywords

Geology, landscape, South Africa, terroir, vineyard, Western Cape, wine

Tags

IVES Conference Series | Terroir 2004

Citation

Related articles…

Discrimination of monovarietal Italian red wines using derivative voltammetry

Identification of specific analytical fingerprints associated to grape variety, origin, or vintage is of great interest for wine producers, regulatory agencies, and consumers. However, assessing such varietal fingerprint is complex, time consuming, and requires expensive analytical techniques. Voltammetry is a fast, cheap, and user-friendly analytical tool that has been used to investigate and measure wine phenolics.

Read More

Sélection génétique des variétés originelles d’Arménie, berceau de la viticulture mondiale

Armenia, a small country in the South of the Caucasus, has been rediscovering its wine-growing past since the discovery in 2007 of archaeological wine-growing remains dating back around 8,000 years. They are among the oldest in the world. Despite a great diversity of grape varieties, Armenian winegrowers did not have sufficiently organized genetic collections to produce plants and satisfy the growing demand for planting.

Read More

Le Pinot noir dans la zone AOC des “Colli Orientali del Friuli” (nord-est de l’Italie) : influence de la forme de taille sur les paramètres viticoles et œnologiques du raisin et du vin

Pinot noir is an interesting vat variety for the high quality products it provides in the most suitable areas. In France, the most important Pinot Noir growing areas are Burgundy, Champagne, Alsace and the Loire. In Italy, Pinot Noir is grown almost exclusively in the northern regions of Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardy and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Read More

Influence of p-Coumaric Acid and Micronutrients on Growth and 4-Ethylphenol Production by Brettanomyces bruxellensis

The wine spoilage caused by Brettanomyces bruxellensis is one of the global concerns for winemakers. Detecting the presence of B. bruxellensis using routine laboratory culture techniques becomes challenging when cells enter the viable but not culturable (VBNC) state. This study aims to investigate the impact of p-coumaric acid (a volatile phenol precursor) and micronutrients on B. bruxellensis’ culturability, viability, and volatile phenol production under sulfite stress. In red wine, exposure to a high sulfite dose (100.00 mg L-1 potassium metabisulfite) resulted in immediate cell death, followed by a recovery of culturability after two weeks.

Read More

Kegged wine as a sustainable alternative: impact on conservation and sensory quality

Wine is not just a beverage; it represents an entire ecosystem in winemaking regions and is deeply linked to economic, social, and environmental factors.

Read More