The South African viticulture pioneer Professor Abraham Izak Perold (1880-1941) was born in Cape Town. He studied maths, physics and chemistry at Victoria College in Stellenbosch and also obtained a PhD (philosophy) in Halle, Germany in 1904. During a study trip lasting several years, he got to know France in particular. In 1906 he was awarded the temporary Chair of Chemistry at the University of Cape Town.

From 1917 to 1928, Perold worked at the University of Stellenbosch, where the departments of viticulture and oenology were created under his leadership. He was commissioned by the government to research the suitability of European vines in South Africa. From his travels he brought 177 varieties to South Africa, which form the core of the still existing collection at the Welgevallen experimental farm at Stellenbosch University. In 1910, he discovered the Barlinka variety in Algeria and introduced it to South Africa as table grape.
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