Social History of the Grape Questions Why We Pursue Fruit of the Vine

Beginning of article

Jeanne Viall, Wilmot James & Jakes Gerwel

Tafelberg

South Africans have been making wine for more than 350 years, a statistic often trotted out when our products are compared with the so-called Old World wines of France.

But who do we refer to when we say "South Africans"?

Journalist Jeanne Viall and academics Wilmot James and Jakes Gerwel have collaborated on what they describe as a South African "social history of the grape", a story that covered "all the people of the vine".

It is an ambitious undertaking and the result is a necessary book.

The adage most used when advising people wishing to own a wine farm asks the …