Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate produces cool climate wines, which may surprise the many UK wine enthusiasts who have grown to love the Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and other varietals that originate from Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate, the South African wine estate in Hermanus. 

The wines from this idyllic location were first introduced to the UK in 2017 by Penny Streeter OBE, owner of the Benguela Cove vineyard as well as Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens in the UK, where guests can enjoy these varietals during tutored wine tastings, or select from the extensive wine list at the Michelin Star award-winning Restaurant Interlude. 

The Western Cape region of South Africa, where this beautiful vineyard is situated, is delightfully hot throughout the summer months, attracting a large number of British tourists who come to enjoy the wine farm experience in sunny climes.  

Yet Benguela Cove is famously known for its cool climate wines. How can this be?  

There is a widespread assumption that cool climate wines must come exclusively from cooler locations, such as Germany's Mosel Valley or Italy's Trentino mountains. 

In reality, cool temperate locations are frequently found in predominantly warm regions. A good example is Benguela Cove. It is in a lagoon near Walker Bay in Hermanus, isolated from the chilly Atlantic Ocean by only a narrow lagoon. It is the world's lowest-lying vineyard, with the longest shoreline, with average water temperatures ranging from 15 to 21 degrees Celsius. 

The growing season may be hot, even sweltering in the summer, but the Benguela current, which flows up from Antarctica, keeps daytime temperatures down and cools the grapes - a perfect combination for great viticulture, says cellar master Johann Fourie, for achieving the estate's distinctive, award-winning wines. 

Hot or Cold

Grapes grown in cool climates develop more slowly, resulting in more concentrated flavours, lower natural sugars, and more acidity. If a glass of red wine has ripe or jammy fruit aromas and a rich crimson or purple colour, it was most probably created in a warm region. It is most likely from a cooler locale if the taste is acidic or delicate, like a newly plucked raspberry. 

Green tinges are common in cool climate whites, however, this could just be due to the wine's youth. They're described as lean, tart, green apple, lemon, and lime in general. Warm climate white wines are tropical, rich, and ripe. 

Warmer climates generate higher alcohol concentration, ranging from 12 to 15%, compared to 10 to 13% in cooler climates. 

Harvest yields are lower in cool climate wines. Winters provide special concerns, with freezing temperatures causing vine damage or even wrecking a vintage - but not in South Africa, thankfully. 

In recent years, spring frosts have caused major losses for growers in Chablis, Burgundy, and Bordeaux. In April 2022, France experienced its coldest night since 1947. 

So, considering the difficulties of working in cool climates, do winegrowers prefer higher temperatures? 

Yes and no. Wines with a richer body and flavour are produced as a result of more sunlight and regular weather. Grapes ripen faster and produce more sugars, resulting in higher alcohol concentrations. Darker fruit flavours like plums and blackberries prevail, with chocolate undertones in some wines. 

Warm climate viticulture, on the other hand, has several disadvantages. 

Producers may have to work extra hard to keep the acidity in the fruits, which decreases as sugar levels rise, and to ensure that wines taste fresh rather than cooked, shapeless, and flabby in the worst-case scenario. The cellar master can manage this in the winery by adding acid or even lowering alcohol levels, which is a controversial but commonplace procedure in major commercial vineyards. 

Your Choice

In the end, the preference of the wine drinker will determine whether cool or warm climate wines are popular. Cool-climate wines, which have lower amounts of sugar and alcohol, have become increasingly popular. Because of the prolonged ripening time, the fruit flavours are more nuanced. The wines have a lighter body and a lot of spicey, flowery, and herbaceous characteristics. 

According to Johann Fourie, they provide a better opportunity to practice the winemaker's arts, particularly in the blending and fermenting processes, in order to develop a precise and subtle balance in the wines from each harvest that eventually adorn the tables of Benguela Cove wine lovers. 

Johann has another opportunity to master the technique of cool climate winemaking at the Mannings Heath Golf and Wine Estate in the United Kingdom, where he established a 34-acre vineyard in 2017. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier sparkling wine cultivars will be released for the first time in 2023, with an estimated annual production of 70,000 bottles. 

The UK's first Pinotage vineyard was planted in 2018 at Leonardslee, the Grade I listed garden estate, with a projected 4,000 bottle annual yield from this one-acre experimental planting. The introduction of Pinotage, which is essentially a warm-climate varietal, raised some questions among wine writers at the time, but there have been good harvests, and the winemaker forecasts success. 

Pinotage is a South African grape variety combining Pinot Noir with Cinsault grapes (Hermitage). Professor Abraham Perold of South Africa was the first to create it, with the goal of introducing a wine that was as delicious as Pinot Noir but had the growth potential of Cinsault. 

As a result, an early-ripening grape with sufficient sugar levels before winter arrives was created. It also has a thicker skin than Pinot Noir, making it more rot and disease resistant. 

Wine Tastings at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens

Pinotage Walking Tour: learn all about the cultivars planted, the viticulture and the vine-to-bottle process, which will culminate in a new Sussex Sparkling wine brand in 2023. Find out first hand why we have chosen to be part of the English wine growing revolution - and enjoy our estate wine from Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate - £12.00 per person.  

Tutored Wine Tastings: a unique wine tasting experience at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens where you will be taken through a tasting journey of our award-winning estate wines from the South African vineyard at Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate in Hermanus, South Africa - £10.00 per person