Expect 'exceptional wines' from SA this year despite smaller grape crop

Despite a modest harvest, the quality of South Africa's 2022 wine grape crop looks good at this stage, meaning "exceptional wines" can be expected from the 2022 vintage, according to Conrad Schutte, manager of wine producer body Vinpro's viticultural consulting service.

More than half of South Africa's 2022 wine grape crop has already been taken in at cellars. The latest estimate by Vinpro and SAWIS (SA Wine Industry Information & Systems) is that this year's crop will be smaller than in 2021, yet larger than the five-year average.

The smaller harvest is mainly due to showers in the Northern Cape and Klein Karoo which resulted in losses due to fungal diseases and rot, while heat waves in the Swartland, Paarl and Robertson regions caused sunburn damage. There was also uprooting of vineyards in certain regions due to financial pressure.

At the same time, favourable growth conditions, effective fungal disease control and sufficient water for irrigation contributed to a bigger harvest in the Stellenbosch and Cape South Coast regions.

A final crop estimate will be made in May 2022.