Why talk about the 2021 vintage when the new harvest hasn’t even started yet, you might ask? Well, the answer is simple – the new vintage’s character is shaped by everything that happens as soon as the previous vintage’s harvest is completed.
The season thus far looks very promising, with sufficient rainfall and snow in the catchment areas that filled up the dams in the Western Cape. The cold weather we’ve been experiencing during September and thus far in October, has a slight impact on the even growth of the new young shoots. This should be rectified naturally as the temperatures start to increase.
Due to the cold winter there are very few pests present in the vineyards for this time of the year, but we have spotted the first “krompokkels” (katydids or bush crickets).
The very strong South Easterly winds arrived early this year, but thankfully the damage to the vines was minimal as the buds and shoots are still in a very early stage of development.
A “krompokkel” or bush cricket