DESPITE the challenging nature of the 2008 vintage, described by Erhard Wolf, Distell’s head of wine and grape buying, “as the most difficult in a decade”, this year’s harvest had delivered to the company excellent quality across the varietal range with only a marginal drop in crop size.
Vigilance in the vineyards and the piloting of new viticultural practices in both Distell’s own vineyards, as well as those of its suppliers, had helped to counter potentially adverse conditions, he said.
According to Wolf, Distell’s well-established network of suppliers throughout the country’s wine-growing regions had made it possible to draw from the very best produced by the season, with this year’s Chardonnay, Merlot and noble late harvest wines, showing exceptionally well. “While these wines are consistently outstanding, irrespective of their origins, we also have some impressive Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage from selected vineyards. Pinot Noir for both still and sparkling wines has also proved of a high standard.”
He added that by continually evaluating viticultural techniques and introducing new strategies to optimise the balance between effective leaf area and crop yields, the company and its suppliers had been afforded a greater measure of protection against the weather than many other growers.
“A very positive feature of this year’s vintage is that we are able to produce many of our reds at lower alcohol levels, close to the 13% mark. This is thanks to a combination of climatic conditions and viticultural protocols established to promote ripening with a good balance between sugars, acids and tannins.”
Distell’s chief viticulturist, Dirk Bosman, said last year’s cold winter allowed vines to go into proper dormancy, a prerequisite for good fruit quality, while higher than average rainfall served to build good moisture reserves in the soil. Conditions were also favourable for an even bud set.
“A rainy spring and wet weather conditions that continued well into January benefited our dryland vineyards and those that would normally have received supplementary irrigation. In these instances, grape quality was outstanding and in some instances, yields were as much as 10% higher than usual.
“However, in the period leading up to ripening, unseasonal rains across all wine-growing areas did pose the threat of grey and sour rot, as well as downy mildew.
“This placed enormous pressure on viticulturists and vineyard staff to manage canopies with the utmost vigilance, ensuring sufficient aeration to curtail the likelihood of disease.
“Fortunately, ready access to well-trained labour allowed us to harvest very selectively.
“Cooler ripening conditions meant a late start to the harvest, with early ripening cultivars ready for picking a week to two weeks later than average.
“We had hoped that all varietals would be similarly affected. However, hotter weather later in the season accelerated the ripening of later ones, resulting in many varietals being ready for picking simultaneously.
“Although this really stretched resources, in the main, tight scheduling enabled us to pick optimally and deliver in line with cellar capacity.”
Bosman said while Sauvignon Blanc crops were about 2% lower than last year, quality was very promising, particularly from those vineyards located close to the sea.
