Abstract
In the Cape Winelands, viticulture-related activities have grown into the second-most important tourism experience for international visitors to the country. The Stellenbosch wine route (SWR) is the oldest and the most developed wine route in South Africa. This chapter unfolds through five sections. First, the literature on the theoretical underpinnings is reviewed. Second, the mixed-method research approach is introduced. Third, the factors enhancing the winescapes of the Western Cape in general and the Stellenbosch region in particular, are described. Fourth, the SWR’s mature life cycle phase is analysed using Miossec’s ideas on the differential development (or hierarchical manifestation) of certain winery nodes. Fifth, a human dimension of the Stellenbosch winescape is explored in which high net worth (HNW) individuals invest in lifestyle farms or settle in exclusive wine and golf estates. The study reveals that SWR’s product offerings have been diversified and multiplied to attract well-heeled tourists to elegant hotels and lodges as well as top-class restaurants that exploit the use of the winescape ambiance and magnificent scenery to their advantage. The challenges now facing the route, which has reached its mature life cycle phase, is to ensure ongoing innovation of its product portfolio to maintain the status quo and to rejuvenate its life cycle.
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Notes
- 1.
Winescapes are characterised by three main elements: the presence of vineyards, the winemaking activity and the wineries where the wine is produced and stored (Bruwer and Alant 2009).
- 2.
Note that the Stellenbosch Wine Route (SWR) is divided into five subregions for administrative reasons. In this chapter, SWR is used throughout.
- 3.
Attractive buildings aimed at creating a strong image with marketing functions capable of enhancing the prestige and increasing visitors’ curiosity—‘farm wineries turn into wine cathedrals according to a trend currently in vogue’ (Torreggiani et al. 2012: 414).
- 4.
According to Bureau for Food Security and Policy development (BFAP 2016), wine tourism is estimated to contribute at least R6 billion to the economy.
- 5.
Documentary film Bitter grapes by Heinneman in 2016, Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6430538/.
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Acknowledgements
Portions of this paper were drawn from the author’s inaugural lecture in March 2017. Thanks are due to two reviewers for their constructive feedback that has strengthened and given sharper focus to the main arguments of the chapter. The contributions of three post graduate students (Retha Muller, Natasha Dippenaar and Catlin Hunter) and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Louise Bordelon are greatly acknowledged and their collaboration with me on wine tourism development in South Africa, especially on the Stellenbosch Wine Route, was especially rewarding. Lastly, a word of thanks to Visio Stellenbosch for providing the two high-quality photos that were used in this chapter.
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Ferreira, S. (2020). Wine Tourism Development: Life Cycles of Wine Routes, Wine Resorts and Lifestyles in the Cape Winelands. In: Rogerson, J., Visser, G. (eds) New Directions in South African Tourism Geographies. Geographies of Tourism and Global Change. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29377-2_12
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