After a slow start, harvest time is well under way as more than half of South Africa's 2022 wine grape crop has already been taken in at cellars and, although estimated to be smaller than in 2021, the crop is larger than the five-year average, says wine industry organisation Vinpro.
“The grape quality also looks good at this stage, which means that we can expect exceptional wines from the 2022 vintage," notes Vinpro viticultural consulting service manager Conrad Schutte.
“Although we started later than normal with the harvest, all ten wine-producing regions have harvested a significant amount of grapes at this stage, which gives a good indication of volumes being delivered to cellars up to now,” he says.
The 2022 season was characterised by cooler weather conditions from winter to mid-December last year, which resulted in later than normal budding, flowering, veraison and ripening. Warm periods in December and January accelerated ripening, but the harvesting programme for most cultivars was still delayed by about seven to ten days.
Although there is variation in the crop estimate per region, the total crop is expected to be smaller owing to the geographical diversity of the respective regions.
“The smaller harvest can mainly be attributed to showers in the Northern Cape and Klein Karoo that resulted in losses due to fungal diseases and rot; sunburn damage due to heat waves in the Swartland, Paarl and Robertson regions, as well as the uprooting of vineyards in certain regions due to financial considerations,” Schutte says.
On the other hand, favourable growth conditions, effective fungal disease control and sufficient irrigation water have, thus far, contributed to a bigger harvest in Stellenbosch and the Cape South Coast, he adds.
The coastal regions are close to harvesting their last grapes, while most of the inland regions have passed the halfway mark.
Vinpro's viticultural consulting service issued the fourth crop estimate with South African Wine Industry Information and Systems. The final crop estimate by viticulturists and producer cellars will be issued in May 2022, together with the official South Africa Wine Harvest Report.