A South African wine revolution brews in the Swartland terroir

Riebeeck Kasteel, South Africa

THERE is a revolution happening in South Africa's wine country, where a handful of young impassioned friends are turning their backs on the very practices that have made the country's wine industry such a success.

Not for them the standard locales that make up the wine tours of the region: Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Constantia - big farms with big production of big, fruity wines, all at Cape Town's doorstep.

The new land of conquest is drier, healthier.

The vines are thirsty for moisture and the farms, empty of…