South Africa’s grape-growing history dates back more than 350 years, but its sparkling wine production is a mere half-century old. Produced similarly to Champagne using the traditional method, or méthode Champenoise, Cap Classique is a tribute to the legendary French bubbles.
But while South African sparklers are popular in upscale wine bars and restaurants in Cape Town, or on safari during sundowners in the bush, they haven’t received the same attention internationally as other sparkling wines like Prosecco or Cava. But that’s starting to change.
The country is getting more creative with its sparkling wine production. Winemakers are crafting Cap Classique wines in unexpected areas like Cape Agulhas, the most southerly part of Africa, and working with the country’s star grape, Chenin Blanc, to produce bubbles that feel as South African as prized liqueurs like creamy Amarula.
“Our producers, unlike our Champagne-based counterparts, have the freedom to play around with other varietals,” says Lloyd Jusa, wine program manager at Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa in Johannesburg. “This creates wines of startling originality, layered with texture, lifted by vibrant acidity and infused with a sense of place that is unmistakably South African.”
What is Cap Classique?
The first traditional-method sparkler in South Africa was born in the early 1970s at Stellenbosch estate Simonsig Family Vineyards after founder Frans Malan returned from a trip to Champagne.
Dubbed Kaapse Vonkel, which translates to “Cape Sparkle,” the sparkling wine was originally crafted from Chenin Blanc. Today, the country’s estimated 225-plus Cap Classique producers lean more toward Champagne’s traditional grapes to craft a mix of styles like blanc de blancs and rosé that range from zero-dosage to brut and demi-sec.
“What’s exciting is how our winemakers are now pushing the envelope using amphora, native yeasts, and low-intervention methods, creating Cap Classiques with raw, textural elegance.” - Lloyd Jusa, wine program manager, Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa, Johannesburg
“Repositioned [more recently] as ‘Cap Classique,’ specifically to highlight its quality, when you see a sparkling wine bottle with this label, you can be confident you’re drinking a product made using the traditional method, a technique honed by time,” says Jusa.
Cap Classique undergoes traditional bottle fermentation and is required, by law, to spend a minimum of 12 months on the lees. Still, most producers mature their Cap Classique wines even longer to create richer, complex profiles.
“Unlike many sparkling wines globally that use shortcuts, true Cap Classique is about patience,” says Jusa. “What’s exciting is how our winemakers are now pushing the envelope using amphora, native yeasts, and low-intervention methods, creating Cap Classiques with raw, textural elegance.”
The process of making Cap Classique
“When it comes to winemaking practices in the cellar, many closely mirror Champagne,” says Wayve Kolevsohn, group beverage manager of The Royal Portfolio, which includes La Residence in the Franschhoek Valley. “Night or very early morning harvesting, use of traditional Champagne grapes only, extended lees contacts, extended bottle ageing, and all for a very reasonable price tag.”
Some of the more prestigious cuvées in South Africa spend as long as 10 years on the lees at estates like 300-year-old Twee Jonge Gezellen in Tulbagh, which produces vintage-only Krone Cap Classique.
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