Distell harvest looking very promising

Commenting on the crops that have been well over halfway harvested, Bosman said a cold winter had enabled the vines in virtually all growing areas to go into proper dormancy, an important prerequisite for good fruit quality. Good rains had also boosted soil moisture levels.

“By spring and well into early summer, water reserves were sufficiently high to see the dryland vines through the drier than average months of November, December and January. In the case of vineyards receiving regular or supplementary irrigation, the dams were full enough to meet their water requirements,” he commented.

He said the prevailing milder temperatures in the weeks leading up to the harvest did not retard ripening of early varietals. Picking had begun about 10 days earlier this year, beginning with Pinot noir intended mostly for some of the company’s sparkling wines.

Protected from sunburn

The heatwave at the end of January had also accelerated picking in some areas. “Fortunately, good foliage cover and canopy management meant in the majority of cases fruit could be protected from sunburn.”

He added that the rain and cooler temperatures that followed the very hot week in late January countered the potential stress to the later ripening varietals and “quality has in no way been compromised. In fact, we are delighted with the Sauvignon blanc, already showing very well in the cellars. Similarly, the Chardonnay shows excellent balance between fruit, sugar, acid and pH.”

Most white varietals had been delivered to the cellars, although some cool-climate Sauvignon blanc was still to be picked in Darling.

“Reds are coming in now and should all be picked by the end of March. Although we are seeing a higher than average number of bunches per vine, berry size is definitely smaller, giving excellent skin to fruit ratios and boding well for colour. If Pinotage, as an early ripener, is an indicator of what is to come, we shall be more than happy with all the reds.”

Bosman said cooler than average temperatures in February had slowed the ripening process and concentrated flavours. He was also confident that phenological ripeness was being achieved at lower sugar levels.

Managing the micro-climate

“We are very mindful of the need to avoid unduly high alcohol levels and use viticultural techniques that promote balanced ripening by, for example, opening leaf canopies to allow for the penetration of filtered rather than direct sunlight. We focus on managing the micro-climate of the vines themselves.”

Bosman said the early March rains followed by warmer weather had created favourable conditions for noble rot in Chenin blanc, Rhine Riesling and Semillon and some of the aromatic varietals like Gewürztraminer and the Muscat cultivars.

“We can expect some excellent noble late harvest wines from this vintage with all the hallmark honey and dried fruit characters associated with botrytis cinerea (noble rot) that occurs during moist, humid conditions followed by a warm and a dry period. It causes the grapes to shrivel and intensifies their sweetness.”

He said while the SA Wine Industry & Information Systems (SAWIS) was predicting a harvest marginally down on 2006, at 966 million litres, Distell’s own experience at this stage of the harvest, which was about 70% complete, was of lower crop sizes in many of the areas from which it sourced its grapes and wines. “Areas such as Stellenbosch, Paarl and Malmesbury are down by between 5% and 10%. The Worcester and Breede River areas are on a par with last year, although Bonnievale is higher than in 2006.

Oversupply easing

Referring to the harvest, Distell MD Jan Scannell said: “The global wine and grape oversupply is certainly not behind us but it is easing in some segments of the market.

"While we have to accept that internationally it will take several more years for supply to match demand, we are starting to see a better alignment between producers and the needs of the market.”

He stressed that it was in times like these that protection of trademarks was of paramount importance. “By trading for the longer-term and protecting brand equity, Distell has managed to maintain a market for the grapes and wines of our suppliers at a time when many other growers are facing a vintage without any firm contracts from wine companies. We regard the sustainability of our suppliers as vital for health of the industry.”