page_title: Chenin blanc
section_title: South Africa
hierarchical_section_title: Chenin blanc / Wine regions / South Africa
caption_attribution_description: South African Chenin blanc from the Stellenbosch wine region
context_page_description: Chenin blanc is a White wine grape variety from the Loire Valley of France. Its high acidity means it can be used to make everything from sparkling wines to well-balanced dessert wines, although it can produce very bland, neutral wines if the vine's natural vigor is not controlled. Outside the Loire it is found in most of the New World wine regions; it is the most widely planted variety in South Africa, where it was historically also known as Steen. The grape may have been one of the first to be grown in South Africa by Jan van Riebeeck in 1655, or it may have come to that country with Huguenots fleeing France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Chenin blanc was often misidentified in Australia as well, so tracing its early history in the country is not easy. It may have been introduced in James Busby's collection of 1832, but C. Waterhouse was growing Steen at Highercombe in Houghton, South Australia, by 1862.
  It provides a fairly neutral palate for the expression of terroir, vintage variation and the winemaker's treatment. In cool areas the juice is sweet but high in acid with a full-bodied fruity palate.
context_section_description: In South Africa, Chenin blanc is the most widely planted variety, accounting for nearly one-fifth (18.6%) of all vineyard plantings in the early 21st century. In 2008, there were 18,852 hectares (46,580 acres) of the grape planted, nearly twice the amount of Chenin blanc planted in France. The majority of the plantings are found in the Western Cape wine region of Paarl in the Cape Winelands District Municipality with 3,326 hectares (8,220 acres) with the Swartland region of Malmesbury and Olifants River not far behind with 3,317 hectares (8,200 acres) and 2,521 hectares (6,230 acres), respectively, in cultivation in 2008.
  The variety was most likely introduced to the country in the collection of vine cuttings sent to Jan van Riebeeck by the Dutch East India Company. For the next couple hundred years of South African wine history, the variety was known as Steen. It was not until 1965 that ampelographers were able to concretely identify the numerous plantings of Steen around the country as being Chenin blanc. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Chenin blanc was the principal grape in the South African wine industry's "white wine renaissance" that was ushered in by the introduction of new technologies such as temperature controlled fermentation vessels. During this time, the focus was on producing off-dry, clean, and crisp wine that was mostly neutral in flavor and could capitalize on the wine market's demand for white wine. Near the end of the 20th century, several Chenin blanc specialist producers emerged and worked with vineyard managers to isolate older Chenin vines on suitable terroir. Their goal was to produce wines that exhibited Chenin's unique aromas and traits. While plantings of Chenin blanc have decreased, the work of these producers resulted in improved quality profiles of South African Chenin blanc.
caption: South African Chenin blancs tend to emphasize more tropical fruit flavors than their Loire counterparts.
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