South Africa's winegrowers working to stay one step ahead of warming planet

Winemakers in South Africa’s Western Cape province are starting to feel the effects of climate change.

The general view by scientists is the region is getting warmer.

The Hemel en Aarde valley, near Hermanus, is renowned as a relatively cool part of the Western Cape.

Creation Wines, for example, focus on cool climate pinot noir and chardonnay wines.

This vineyard frequently places in the top ten of the World's 50 Best Vineyards, an annual ranking of the best vineyard experiences on the planet, with the list compiled from the votes of the more than 700-strong voting Academy, including renowned sommeliers, travel and wine tourism experts and wine trade specialists.

Winery visitor Zack Sande describes the pinot noir, made from a notoriously thin-skinned and sensitive grape.

“It’s the wine between the red and the white. Simple, easy, smooth. Nice texture. You know when you take it, I would rather enjoy it with a nice simple tuna sashimi, or maybe a tuna steak," he says.

For winemaker Jean-Claude Martin, originally from Switzerland, climate change is a consideration in the Hemel en Aarde valley.

His wine estate focuses on cool climate wines in a region becoming warmer.

Martin believes the Hemel en Aarde valley has one climatic saving grace which is thus far tempering the effects of climate change.

“We are here sort of lucky enough right now that we don’t have these huge, huge shifts yet. But, we have to see what the future will hold. But, the main reason that this is not the case is that we are not in a 'continental climate' - that basically means our ocean is pretty much the balancing factor when it comes to these dramatic changes. And as long as our ocean temperature is pretty stable, we’ve not seen a massive shift, yet.”

Warning signs

But even this relatively cool part of a warming region needs to prepare for climate change.

This is according to new data from Stellenbosch University.

Dr Erna Blancquaert says the most recent wine harvest in the Western Cape was the earliest ever.

“Traditionally, grapes were harvested anytime from mid-January until March. Of course, in cooler regions, like the Hemel en Aarde and the coastal Cape South Coast, these grapes are harvested in March and sometimes even in April. With a shift in these phenological stages, it means that these grapes will now be harvested much earlier. And, we have established that in 2035, we might even start harvesting in November.”

Earlier harvests have many implications including when labour is needed, and on wine styles or flavour profiles.

Creation viticulturist Gerhard Bruwer has been making use of on-site weather data for the last three years to help him plan ahead.

Although it is too soon for Bruwer to draw long-term conclusions, he says the wine farm did harvest earlier this year, as per the country-wide trend.

“This year was interesting. Initially we thought the harvest would be between 7 and 14 days earlier than last year. On the first cultivars it was definitely between 7 and 10 days earlier.”

Bruwer adds: “Climate change is happening. So, on the outside we will do things different like planting certain cover crops, we will change our pruning systems on some of the cultivars, like the chardonnays and the pinot noirs, we will go to the guyot pruning system.”

Cover crops help the soil retain moisture, while the guyot pruning system allows for precision pruning based on climate variability.

Emma Carkeek, who works for non-profit organisation VINPRO, provides technical support to vineyards including Creation Wines.

“Our approach to navigating changing climate and building resilience into our vineyard systems is to bring in precision viticulture into our vineyard systems, and our vineyard operations," she says.

"And that really means building the right foundation from the beginning, understanding your site, your topography, your climate, your soil types, and putting all that information together to make the right decisions, or the best decisions and the best selections, to ensure that you have a vineyard that is producing for the longest time possible, a viable vineyard.”

Soil preparation, climate analysis and choice of root stock are critical to building climate resilient vineyards.

Closely monitoring and adjusting every aspect of a vineyard is how a wine estate like Creation is building climate resilience.

The Hemel en Aarde valley is a cool part of a warming region and its winemakers are working to stay one step ahead of climate change.