SA had very few shiraz vineyards planted until the late 1990s and most of them were grievously virused. Accordingly, many of the wines showed flat, leathery whiffs, stressed fruit aromas, some reductive pongy notes - often with a hint of bacterial spoilage to make up the compote.

Unsurprisingly, the market for such vinous masterpieces was pretty limited. It was only when SA began replanting red varieties in earnest (following the post-1994 surge in exports) that a real interest in Shiraz developed. In the 10-year period between 1997 and 2006 the Cape's shiraz vineyards increased by a factor of nearly 10 .

By then there was so much of it about that it became the great red hope of the industry. Everyone was on board, and criticism of where the vines were planted, the wines themselves and how they had been vinified was like being rude about the bride to her father at her wedding.

Given that the replacement cost of these shiraz vineyards runs to about R3bn, you can understand why producers were feeling defensive. Still, there's no point in maintaining that the entire 10000ha currently under shiraz vines represents the optimum vineyard investment.

This is where the question of style is vital. Some appellations naturally lend themselves to the big, bold, plush-fruited style (the Barossa benchmark) while others tend to yield the more austere peppery wines associated with the Northern Rhone. However, over time winemakers have come to see these two extremes, and the gaps between them, as options to be settled upon at the time of the vintage. If you want it peppery, harvest a little early. If it's a fruit bomb that you're seeking, go for the extra hang-time and concentrate whatever juice is still left in the berry.

Of course, following this kind of recipe is a bit of a self-fulfilling prophesy. The earlier you harvest, the lower the sugars (and therefore, the lower the alcohols) the less concentrated the juiciness, the more austere the wine.

But finally you land up with a beverage that is simply unripe and the apparent peppery notes are actually a herbal edge to the fruit. And if you decide to push the wine to its limit, there will be a Port-like note to the ribena richness, a whiff of decay from grapes that have ripened until they have raisined.

There are places (amazingly the Northern Rhone and Australia's Barossa Valley) where these styles are what the place expresses. Before a winemaker in a new Shiraz environment can predetermine whether he is a "new" or "old" world producer, he must listen to what the vineyard tells him.

In the early days of the new Cape plantings, there wasn't much of that happening. People were seeking to make statements, even if the raw material at their disposal didn't fit to the stereotype they had in mind.

The next generation is out there now, and we are seeing some pretty smart wines. Some appear to have a unique feel about them: the just- released Haskell 2007, made by Rianie Strydom, seems somehow to be a combination of the two styles. Hints of pepper, dense red fruit, silken textures - no wonder it won the Shiraz class and best wine of show at this year's Tri-Nations Challenge, as well as a Platter five star and a gold medal at the Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show. But there are several very successful peppery examples: the Tamboerskloof 2006, the Woolworths (TMV) Syrah- Mourvedre, the Stark-Conde 2006, the 2008 Creation, the 2008 Mullineux, the Ridgeback 2006, and the 2008 Quoin Rock.

There are, of course, very striking examples of the bigger, bolder style. Bellingham's The Bernard Basket Press Syrah 2006 may have slight peppery whiffs but it's on the cusp of the thicker-than-creamy style. Likewise the Stellezicht Syrah, the Engelbrecht-Els Cirrus and the Horse Mountain. In between these two there are many nuances - such as Hartenberg's Gravel Hill, the La Motte Pierneef, De Morgenzon's DMZ and the Luddite.

From Business Day, 9 December 2009