Category: International

South African Wine Industry Overcoming and Adapting to Day Zero Declaration

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By April Ingram

The Western Cape of South Africa and its historic vineyards, nestled in the mountains to the east of Cape Town, are a major draw for tourists, with tens of thousands of overseas visitors enjoying tours and tastings every year. The worst drought in living memory hit vineyards in South Africa’s Western Cape hard, reducing grape harvests and adding to pressure on the region’s centuries-old wine industry. As the world’s seventh largest wine producer, a decrease in its wine production could heavily hit the country’s overall economic growth.

In October 2017, the mayor of Cape Town and the South African government made a dramatic declaration that caught the attention of the world. Day Zero, the date on which the taps are turned off due to severe drought, was to be in March 2018, leaving four million residents of the country’s second largest city without drinking water.

In light of the looming deadline, the city implemented unprecedented water restrictions, such as a daily limit of 50 liters of water per person (a single toilet flush uses nine liters of water, and a minute-long shower uses 10 liters); severe, mandatory decreases in water usage by agricultural users and commercial properties; and complete bans of unnecessary water usage, such as filling pools and washing cars.

Consider if your vineyard was suddenly hit with an enforceable water quota – reduce water use by 60 percent. Once you reach your quota, the taps are shut off – not a warning or a fine, not a slap on the wrist — turned off.

“These strict water curtailments cost farmers dearly,” said Janse Rabie of South African agriculture lobbying group Agri SA. “It also had an enormous impact on farm workers (particularly seasonal workers) who could not be employed or had to be let go.”

Although the official “Day Zero” was pushed back by generous rainfall in recent months, the drought is still very real, and the threat of shut off still looms.

Flexibility & Planning are Keys to Survival

South Africa’s wine sector, dating back to the arrival of the first European settlers in the 1650s, has been hit hard. Winemakers in the region make up 11 percent of the southwestern region’s economic output and sustain 300,000 jobs, contributing about $3 billion to the economy in 2015. Grape production fell 15 percent from last year and, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), output from Africa’s top wine-producing region is set to slump by over 20 percent this year, leading to a production shortfall of 170 million liters of wine.

Many vine growers have deserted acres of vines, unable to sustain them with the water restrictions. However, some vineyard owners and managers are rising above the drought, reinventing growing practices, participating in research, realizing that drought in the region may very well be their new normal.

A shift in varietals is taking place, toward planting and replacing dying vines with more quality drought tolerant and drought-resistant vines. The replacement varietals produce more flavor, acidity and intensity, but have lower water needs. These include new clones of Grenache and cultivars such as Assyrtiko, Verdelho, Chenin Blanc, Vermentino, Aglianico, Cabernet Sauvignon and Touriga Nacional, which are suited to South Africa’s growing conditions and changing climate.

Necessary Shifts in Vine Management

Vines that are typically resilient are showing visible effects from the three-year-long drought.  Shoots arrive early but are notably dry and shriveled. Corlea Fourie, head of viticulture at Bosman Family Vineyards, said, “harvest was down by a third compared to prior harvests and the berries shriveled quite a bit.”

The shriveled berries, referred to as “oumens gesiggies” (old people’s faces), are suitable for concentration but lack the vibrancy and freshness needed to complete the flavor profile. Berries that aren’t dried out are noticeably smaller, resulting in less juice and drastically affecting overall volumes.

Fourie said vine management had to shift. “Both managers and laborers spent countless grueling hours in the sun pruning in anticipation of the dry season,” she said. “We had to harvest earlier and give up some crop. It was during this harvest that I realized I wasn’t in charge anymore.”

Other vineyards have been forced to revert to the tradition of dry farming.  Many regions had irrigation supplies completely cut off months before harvest. Some young and needy vines were only able to be irrigated once in the entire season.

Cover crops are being carefully considered and planted, to ensure proper water absorption and better water retention when the rainy season starts.  VinPro and Winetech, networks which represent the nation’s wine producers and stakeholders, have worked together to present a series of information days in the region that focused on effective viticultural practices in times of water scarcity. Some of the tips shared by specialists in the field were:

  • Determine the point at which your grapevine is taking stress so that you can apply water optimally and even increase quality.
  • Irrigation should be timed meticulously. If only one irrigation is planned, véraison is the appropriate time. If there is enough water for a second round, vineyards can be irrigated during the peaberry stage. If the winter was very dry and there is enough water available for a third irrigation, it can be applied just before flowering to ensure a good set.
  • Avoid impulse irrigation, as a lot of water is lost via evaporation. Rather ensure that the entire root volume is wet and allow it to dry before irrigating again.
  • Do not remove grapes unnecessarily or mothball vineyards; it won’t have a significant effect on transpiration. No grapes equal no production.

VinPro’s regional viticulturists have been working to assist producers with drought-specific advice and issued a guideline titled “Management of grapevines during drought periods” in collaboration with the Institute for Grape and Wine Sciences (IGWS) on the two organizations’ websites.

A Drive Towards Research

Although South Africa’s wine industry has been focusing on research related to climate change for more than a decade now, there is currently a big drive towards researching different ways in which the industry can monitor and manage water usage more efficiently.  Research priorities include examining smart-agri tools, drought tolerant cultivars, water stress management, and efficient irrigation management.

Gerard Martin, executive manager of Winetech, describes some of the key research being done, specifically looking at vine’s response to water stress. “Both grapevine scion cultivars and rootstock varieties differ in their tolerance and response to limited water supplies. The reaction of a grafted vine to water stress can’t necessarily be predicted from the scion and rootstock varieties’ individual reactions,” he said.

This study will determine irrigation management standards to avoid unacceptable levels of stress that would have negative impacts on grape yield and quality. “We put different grapevine scion-rootstock combinations under defined water stress to compare the molecular, metabolic stress fingerprints. In the end, we will be able to characterize the differences in water acclimatization potential of the different plant materials to water stress to improve viticultural practices,” said Martin.

Higher-yielding trellis systems are being studied in combination with different irrigation strategies. Water use, yield and quality from bush vines and vines that are drip-irrigated, on vertical shoot positioned (VSP) trellis systems are being measured and compared to that of grapevines trained onto high potential yield trellis systems in the coastal region. The economic input requirements for grape production of different canopy management/trellis systems and irrigation strategy combinations are also being investigated.

The traditional profile of South African wine may shift, and in the longer term, producers will have to look at quality, drought-resistant vines which produce more flavor, acidity and intensity, but have lower water needs.  In the meantime, growers are working to adapt practices to fit the new normal, and while “Day Zero” still looms, and restrictions are in place, the Department of Water and Sanitation is looking for divine intervention to end the drought in the Western and the Eastern Cape: it has called on citizens to continue to conserve, but pray for rain. (Sunday Times Newspaper)

Welcome to Fizz Club

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By April Ingram

Over the past 15 years, international sales of Champagne and sparkling wine have strengthened. The increased sales are due, in part, to the increase in exceptional sparkling wines being made in wine regions throughout the world, including Canada. Even though Champagne remains the gold standard, with the rise in quality sparkling wines at reasonable prices, consumers no longer have to wait for a special occasion to pop open a bottle, and sales have skyrocketed.

Belinda Kemp, senior scientist in Oenology at Brock University, wanted to provide a technical foundation for the growth of Canada’s sparkling wine industry, so in 2013 she worked with Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) to create Fizz Club.

According to the Brock University website, the CCOVI was established in 1996 in partnership with the Grape Growers of Ontario, the Winery & Grower Alliance of Ontario and the Wine Council of Ontario. They focus on assisting grape growers and winemakers to produce top quality sparkling wines. Much of the research conducted at CCOVI surrounds the affects soil types have on sparkling wine flavor, mouthfeel, and texture. Kemp works out of her “Bubble Lab,” known for its leading sparkling wine research and outreach work, culminating in an annual event called “Fizz Club.”

Fizz Club is a rare opportunity for Canada’s leading sparkling winemakers to come together and talk shop. The club is members-only, limiting membership to sparkling winemakers or wineries already underway or considering a sparkling wine program. At the event, winemakers discuss the most significant issues facing the Canadian wine industry, hear presentations on the newest research and technology, network, compare notes, exchange ideas, and of course, taste wine.

Each year, the event has grown. In its inaugural year, only a handful of Niagara wineries participated. In 2018, more than 80 winemakers stepped out of their cellars and came together in Niagara, Ontario with the goal of making Canadian sparkling wine even better. To that end, the corks of more than 130 bottles from four provinces were popped while Canadian winemakers talked candidly about sparkling wine production.

In an article in Brock University’s Brock News entitled “How Fizz Club is shaping Canadian sparkling wine,” Simon Rafuse, winemaker at Blomidon Estate Winery in Nova Scotia said, “The winemaking community doesn’t have a lot of opportunities to come together and spend time face-to-face with other winemakers across the country.  To focus in on one specific style of wine, which is one we do extremely well here in Canada, and to be able to spend the time to hear the latest research being done at Brock is a great opportunity.”

In the same article, winemaker Karen Gillis of Red Rooster Winery in British Columbia said, “It is nice to be able to be in a room where you can openly communicate with other winemakers because there are certainly some challenges that everyone faces, to have that opportunity to work that out with other people is great. We are looking to learn from our peers from across the country and share some knowledge and challenges to try to see how we can do a better job and make sparkling wine that is competitive around the world.”

Lawrence Buhler, winemaker at Henry of Pelham, has been attending Fizz Club since the beginning, telling Brock News, “The first Fizz Club was a few of us hanging out tasting wines in a lab, and now you can see how valuable something like this is based on how fast this group has grown. It is great to see people attend from across the country, including veterans in sparkling wine whom you can learn a lot from and people who are pushing the boundaries when it comes to winemaking.”

According to “How Fizz Club is shaping Canadian sparkling wine,” topics discussed at the December 2018 event included yeast strains and pétillant-naturel, also known as “methode ancestrale,” a reemerging process of winemaking where sparkling wines are bottled while they’re still fermenting. Its origins are thought to have been a mistake, with early winemakers thinking fermentation was complete and bottling their wines too soon. The result was a particularly fizzy sparkling wine.

Rafuse told Brock News, “It is great to see the efforts in studying that style, figuring out techniques and ways to make those wines and hearing from winemakers who have experience making them. Knowing where we can focus our own research, and our own trial efforts will hopefully lead to us making better wines at Blomidon Estates and across our industry as a whole.”

Rafuse and other Canadian winemakers are certainly succeeding at creating bubbles that attract attention—winning medals and awards on the world stage—leading to surging sales, nationally and internationally.

Tom Stevenson, one of the world’s leading sparkling wine experts and the founder and head judge for the Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships, traveled from the United Kingdom to Brock University to sample wines at Fizz Club. “I am really pleased because there are a lot of really good sparkling wines here. After the first flight I found a few potential gold and silver wines,” Stevenson told Brock News.

He hopes some of those potential gold and silver winners will participate in global competitions. “It would increase the profile of Canadian sparkling wine. We haven’t typically had many entries from Canada in the past to really see what these producers have available from a competition perspective,” Stevenson said.

Overall, Kemp found the 2018 Fizz Club to be a success and thinks Stevenson could be on to something with his praise of Canadian bubbly. “I’m so pleased we were able to showcase wines from so many wineries,” she told Brock News. “It is quite incredible to watch the progress of Canadian sparkling wines as we raise awareness of production techniques and tackle challenges with CCOVI research. This is just the beginning for Canadian sparkling wine.”