ABSTRACT
The development of the first wine route in the Stellenbosch area was the product of leadership, determination and endurance in the face of obdurate bureaucracy. In his 1999 guide to South African wines, John Platter is upbeat about the future of the wine industry. His confidence is based on the 'newness' of everything: new regions, new investors, new winemakers, 'new' grape varieties and new export markets. The emergence of wine routes has taken place against a background of social and political change in the country. The South African wine industry is no stranger to regulation. Having recovered from the 1885 devastation of the wine lands by the phylloxera louse, by 1918 wine overproduction appeared to be a problem. In 1973 the government introduced further legislation designed to introduce quality control via the Wine and Spirit Board through authenticating the claims on the wine label as to the vintage, area of origin and cultivar.
