Mullineux revives historic Cape grape Sémillon Gris

A forgotten piece of Cape wine history has been given a new lease on life. After more than a decade of selection, propagation and certification, Sémillon Gris has been recognised internationally as a distinct grape variety, with Mullineux establishing the world’s first officially certified Sémillon Gris vineyard at their Roundstone property in the Swartland.

The near-hectare vineyard represents the culmination of work led by Andrea and Chris Mullineux, together with viticultural specialists and industry bodies, to preserve and formally establish a grape that has been part of the Cape’s history for centuries.

Sémillon arrived in the Cape in the 17th century and, by the 19th century, was one of the region’s dominant varieties. Known locally as Groendruif, it once accounted for the vast majority of Cape plantings. Over time, a natural pink-skinned mutation emerged in vineyards alongside Sémillon Blanc. Known as Rooi Groendruif or Sémillon Gris, it was harvested and vinified together with the white-skinned form and was never formally recognised as a separate variety.

As vineyard replanting accelerated after phylloxera, Sémillon Gris gradually disappeared, surviving only in isolated old vineyards. Interest in the variety grew as South Africa’s wine industry began looking more closely at historic vines and varieties that had adapted to local conditions over generations.

The Mullineux project began in 2012 in a dry-farmed Swartland vineyard planted in 1960, where Sémillon Blanc and Sémillon Gris still grew together. Selected vines were propagated in collaboration with Vititec, SAWIS and the Department of Agriculture, with the certified mother block established at Roundstone in 2022.

The vineyard has now been entered on the International List of Vine Varieties of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) as a distinct variety, giving Sémillon Gris formal international recognition for the first time.

Mullineux has worked with Sémillon Gris for more than a decade through its Cape Winemakers Guild auction wine “The Gris”, made from selected grapes in an old Swartland vineyard where the variety was not yet officially recognised.

Future releases from Roundstone will be among the first wines in the world able to carry the Sémillon Gris name officially, turning a once-overlooked mutation into a recognised part of South Africa’s viticultural heritage.