The best wines from Paarl in South Africa

Paarl is a wine district in the coastal region of South Africa. It is a valley wedged between mountains where in the nineteenth century about half of South Africa's wines were pressed. Nowadays that is a lot less. It is hot in Paarl, the vineyards on slopes are the best. In Paarl there are some very large (bulk) producers active but also some smaller ones that make fine quality wines. Nevertheless, Paarl has a (still) not very highly regarded reputation in South African wine.

The South African wine district of Paarl owes its name to the Dutchman Abraham Gabemma who settled here in the mid-seventeenth century. The granite of one of the mountains surrounding the valley glistened like a pearl in the sun after a rain shower. Gabemma called it the 'Paarlberg' and the region was (much later) called Paarl. By the end of the eighteenth century, the region accounted for half of South Africa's wine production.

That volume has done Paarl's reputation no favours. There are smaller wineries active that make excellent wines, but there is still a lot of mass production in Paarl: bulk wines that end up on supermarket shelves for low prices. The loss of two important areas has further undermined Paarl's reputation. In 2010, Franschhoek became an independent wine district and in 2012 Wellington went solo. These districts are generally associated with a higher quality than Paarl.

After the turn of the century, Paarl added two new Wards: Voor-Paardeberg and Simonsberg-Paarl. Producers in these areas successfully lobbied for their own appellation to strengthen the reputation of their wines. Voor-Paardeberg produces good wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Pinotage and Sauvignon Blanc (in order of volume). However, Voor-Paardeberg may have a stronger connection with the neighbouring Swartland in terms of terroir and it would make more sense if it were part of this district. Incidentally, Voor-Paardeberg is also home to a number of very large producers of lesser (and mainly more commercial) quality.

Simonsberg-Paarl is located at the foot of the Simonsberg. It is warm there. Higher up on the slopes there is cooling and a fair amount of rain, although most vineyards are also irrigated. Reasonably good wines are made, but Simonsberg-Paarl still has a long way to go to reach the top of South Africa.

Most wines from Paarl are marketed with the appellation 'Paarl'. There is a huge variety of soils and terroir (location, sun, rainfall and cooling) and therefore the quality of the wines also varies enormously. Chenin Blanc is the most planted grape in Paarl, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinotage. Due to the heat, the wines of Cinsault and Sauvignon Blanc are generally less worthwhile.