How different it is from the gentler conditions of France, muses Kobus von Ierop

Spring started nice and cool with some thunderstorms and lots of growth in the vineyards. But it seems as if the party is over and the heat is here. Harvest is just three months away.

A dangerous thing to do is to compare our growing conditions and vines to, for example, those of France. For example:

1. I always have to wear a rainjacket or something warm  whilst harvesting in France. It is cold, autumn, when they harvest. The season has turned and the colour of the leaves are changing. We harvest in the heat of summer. Even the so called cooler climates in South Africa harvest most of their grapes during March when it is still boiling hot.
2. In France they also have some very hot days - in Alsace in the north of France a 39 degree Celcius day is not impossible, but their heat comes before veraison (when the berries soften and change colour). In most places the season changes in France at the time of veraison. We have heat before and after veraison and right into harvest. The quality of the grape is determined more by temperaure (heat waves) after veraison and not so much before. Cooler weather after veraison always favours better quality.
3. In France farmers do not irrigate. Of course they don't. Because they don't have to, most of the time. In the last four harvests I have been to France it has been raining right into harvest.
4. We have more wind here, as far as I know, than anywhere in France or Italy or California. Wind, heat and little water causes stress in our vineyards more than anywhere I have seen.
5. The heated issue of breaking away of leaves: Some French winemakers believe in removing leaves around the bunches to expose the grapes to direct sunlight. That works in France where the climate is mild before harvest. Our pre-harvest period is so hot not even the crickets eat during the day.
6. Low yields. Much to say for that, but I have seen many blocks of so-called 3 tons/ha in Europe where the other 7 is somehow just not counted!   

This is truly a country of extremes. I always get the feeling that the vineyards in Europe are so civilised, ours are so wild! Their climate seems mild, almost gentle, while with us the wind blows you off your feet and the sun burns you into a head spin. What a lovely place to be, though!