Western Cape launches climate change action plan
The Western Cape government has launched a climate change response strategy, known as Smart Agri, which sets out a roadmap to combat the impact of extreme weather events on the province’s agriculture sector. This is wonderful news for both wine consumers and growers - extreme weather events have cost our economy more than R3bn over a five-year period, which means jobs, revenue and livelihoods are on the line. It is our duty to act now to ensure we have a sustainable agriculture sector in the future.
The Smart Agri plan puts forward the following six priorities to be driven by government and industry as solutions:
1. Conservation agriculture
2. Restoring degraded landscapes
3. Improved catchment management for water security and job creation
4. Energy efficiency
5. “Climate-proofing” the Western Cape’s agri-processing sector
6. Integrated knowledge system for climate smart practices
Read more here.
So it turns out I was completely wrong in assuming these were just two ways of saying the same thing - very wrong in fact. At their extremes, these two styles are so different that they have little in common. At one end there’s the spicy, savoury aromatics and defined structure born of a warm climate (Syrah); at the other there is the power, density and ripe black fruits of a hot climate (Shiraz).
In South Africa we make some pretty solid Shiraz in the Swartland region, where the arid conditions are absolutely perfect for growing this hardy cultivar. Now, this begs the question – if we know that this varietal does when it’s grown in extreme heat, what would it do when it’s grown in extreme cold? Turns out a few crazy people in Germany had the same question. The first vines were planted in 1993 by Werner Knipser in the Pfalz on the back of their success with red Bordeaux varieties. Hanspeter Ziereisen was the first to plant Syrah in neighbouring Baden in 1999. He now estimates that there are 10 to 15 producers in Baden alone, and 50 to 55 hectares of Syrah planted across the country. Read more about the results of this gutsy experiment here.
South African wines are performing well in the UK online-, independent- and specialist sectors, where there are the opportunities to sell premium wines directly to interested consumers. There is also a great deal of interest in South African wines in the UK market overall and much positive rhetoric about the quality of our wines.
Says Kevin Gallagher from SA Wines Online, "Recent efforts in television (ITV - The Wine Show), print and social media have resulted in an interest in South African Wine, especially with the younger generation, however this has not yet converted in to sales. We have noticed that the wines selling are the top-end premium wines."
Read more good stuff about how our wines are being perceived in the UK here and here.
Bonus factoid: In the wake of the Paris attacks, the French have rallied and are now doing their utmost to improve the tourist experience. The RER C (a commuter train line) takes passengers from central Paris to the Palace of Versailles, taking in numerous other tourist destinations along the way - in fact, tourists make up ten percent of its passengers and this line just received a royal makeover. It was transformed to reflect different parts of the grounds and gardens of Versailles. Read more here.
This week’s Weekly Wine Wrap-Up was brought to you by Juliet Cullinan Wines. The 26th annual Juliet Cullinan Standard Bank Wine Festival will be hosted on 12 and 13 July 2016 at Summer Place, Hyde Park. Tickets are available at Webtickets.
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