Rhodesian Wine Industry

It appears to be a matter of some dispute, as to exactly when and where the commercial wine industry in Rhodesia had its beginnings. There are many opinions on this question, but a place to begin this piece has to be found, and at the risk of causing much disagreement amongst Rhodesians, that place shall be Essexvale, situated in Matabeleland between the city of Bulawayo and Balla Balla.

This first commercial production began in the early 1950's under the labels of  Worringham and Lorraine, these were semi-sweet and quite good.

Rhodesians had been told by outside experts that wine production in the country was not a viable proposition, or even possible. However, this kind of thinking has no meaning to a Rhodesian and showing typical grit and determination, Rhodesians soon proved the experts wrong.

In the beginning, much of the wine produced in Rhodesia was to say the least, not of the best quality, but was extremely useful for putting the shine back on old pennies or stripping that awkward enamel paint from a truck chassis! Mind you, this was also true of the first English wines to appear since the time of the Roman occupation, but they have also grown in stature and respect, much to the chagrin of the French and assorted pretentious wine snobs.

Other areas in Rhodesia soon came on tap to produce wine, some of these being in the Eastern Highlands, Marandera and rumour has it, Umtali on the Mozambique border. Both red and white wines were produced, with the red wines seeming to be the most successful and the quickest to improve in quality.

Throughout the 1960's and the turbulent period of the bush war in the 1970's, the wine industry grew and matured, and the quality of the wines improved markedly. By the early 1970's decent drinkable wines were available, although there was still some distance to go before the wines could be classed as being of a good and reliable quality.

A Californian wine industry expert was active in the Marandera area during the early 1970's, his suggestions on vinification and production soon began to have an effect in  much improved wines. For a small industry which started so late, this was excellent progress indeed and promised many good things to come.

As the 1980's dawned, the democratic and black majority ruled Republic of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, due to international gerrymandering and fraudulent elections, fell under the yoke of Marxist rule by Robert Mugabe and his ZANU (PF) Party.

Through this tragic period of Rhodesia's history, the wine industry managed to progress, despite the ever worsening economy and rampantly corrupt and dictatorial government, which was bleeding the country dry.

By the mid 1990's, and against the background of a collapsing economy, the wine industry were still able to produce good honest table wines, probably the most common of which being, Mukuyu. The Phillips Cellar Rose label actually received a gold medal for their wine in Europe, with others receiving silver medals. The vines currently used to produce wines are, reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsaut and Pinotage, whites: Cheni Blanc, Hanepoot and Colombard.

At the time of writing, October 2000, very acceptable wines continue to be produced, although there is a question mark hanging over the industry. This being due to the continued political instability and unrest, and the government sponsored policy of land thefts by the supporters and paid squatters of Robert Mugabe and ZANU (PF).

It is to be hoped that the wine industry is able to continue and to gradually improve its products, to the point that they are able to truly compete in the international market on both price and quality.

It would be a tragedy indeed, if the wine industry, built by the sweat and toil of Rhodesians, were to be sacrificed for nothing more than to allow Mugabe and ZANU (PF) to cling onto power for a few more years.