South African vineyard defies drought to see yields increase
A South African winemaker is defying the odds and has seen his yields increase, despite the drought which has gripped the country for the past three years.
Paul Cluver, chairman of the eponymous 2000 hectare estate in the Elgin Valley, which received about half the rainfall between 2015 as it did between 2012 and 2014 , says its all about managing resources in the most efficient manner.
“It’s a question of how you manage what you’ve got,” said the former neurosurgeon turned winemaker speaking to Seven Fifty Daily. “You should be more productive with less, and that’s entirely possible.”
The strategy to conserve water at Cluver Wines started years ago, and included removing alien vegetation such as eucalyptus and pin trees, to help support native biodiversity, increase the run off and reduce the fire hazard. In adddion the estate has slashed its water consumption by mulching, irrigating at night and using netting to collect condensation.
Cluver Wines is also one of nearly 300 grape growing outfits that monitor their irrigation via FruitLook, a sattelite based tracking service provided to farmers for free by the Western Cape Provincial Department of Agriculture. “The main angle of [the service] is to increase what we refer to as water-use efficiency,” said André Roux, a drought and water specialist in the department. “The general feeling is that [we’ve seen] 10 to 20% water savings. Some farmers indicate [that they’ve had] up to 30% water savings.”
Despite such efficiencies, the fact remains that most wine producers have seen their water sources they rely on for irritaion rationed for months, with some quotas cut by as much as 80%, forcing producers to prioritse their water use for their highest income blocks and introduce water saving devices in cellars.
Most vineyards in Stellenbosch are expecting smaller harvest and much lower yields than in previous years, and according to a survey last Novermber by South African Wine Industry Information and Systems, the 2018 crop may end up being the smallest since 2005.
Francois Viljoen, Vin Pro’s viticulture and soils manager has suggested that yields could plummet by up to 20% this year, down from an estimated 1.4 millon tons of grapes last year.
However, this supply shortage will likely to lead to an overall price increase that many local wine industry experts consider overdue, though that is little compensation for the thousands of farm workers who have already found themselves out of work because of the drought.