The annual South African Wine Harvest Report 2023 has revealed the good news to all wine lovers: they can expect great wine in the 2023 grape season. Wine experts say though the harvest is smaller, the quality is outstanding and the industry is ready for business.
“Compared to other seasons, the 2023 harvest is very similar to previous cooler seasons, such as 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2021,” said Conrad Schutte, consultation services manager of the wine industry body Vinpro.
“It particularly resembles the combination of cold and wet conditions of 2014 and 2019. In terms of volume, 2023 may be one of the smallest harvests in more than a decade,”’ he added.
According to the latest harvest estimate by the South African Wine Industry Information and Systems (SAWIS), the 2023 wine grape harvest will be 1 180 093 tonnes.
Impact of the weather on the harvest
The wine-producing region experienced slightly warmer winter temperatures and less rainfall, except the Northern Cape. Snowfall on mountain peaks decreased along with cold units.
Schutte explained that physiological processes in the vineyard started earlier due to the mostly warmer spring and dry soil conditions. He added that budding generally occurred 7-10 days earlier than normal. The evenness of budding was satisfactory but for certain cultivars such as chardonnay, budding was uneven in some areas.
According to Vinpro, there was early flowering in most of the vines and differences happened in the setoff cultivars. The trend is due to the optimal environmental temperatures for photosynthesis with sufficient water that led to rapid vegetative growth. Vegetative growth could compete with flower/set and later cultivars such as cabernet sauvignon that experienced lighter sets in certain regions.
Expect excellent vintage
The 2022/2023 season will be known for its dry and warmer winter, good growing conditions during the vegetative growth phase, good rain shortly before véraison which benefitted quality, and a cool and wet ripening period which gave grapes a chance to ripen optimally at a slower rate.
“Wine lovers can look forward to high-quality wines from this season. Smaller berries driven by the dry conditions during the cell division and enlargement stage benefited grape quality to deliver excellent flavour and colour profiles,” said Schutte.
“Viticulturists and winemakers are particularly excited about excellent colour extraction, low pH levels, and high natural acids in cases where vineyards have been effectively managed, all of which indicate exceptional quality wines,” he added.
The 2023 wine harvest – including juice and concentrate for non-alcoholic purposes, wine for brandy, and distilling wine – is estimated to amount to 917.2 million litres, at a recovery of 777 litres per tonne of grapes.
Demand is expected to continue growing
“Despite what was by all accounts a challenging harvest for our winemakers, we are positive that we can look forward to superb 2023 vintage wines to share with our consumers around the world,” said Siobhan Thompson, the CEO of the Wines of South Africa (WoSA).
“We have seen the demand for South African wines grow and anticipate our wines will continue to deliver the excellent quality we are becoming known for.”
South Africa is the ninth largest wine producer in the world and produces approximately 4% of the world’s wine. The wine industry contributes more than R55 billion to the country’s GDP and employs 269 069 people across the value chain, of which 80 173 work on farms and in cellars.
“The wine industry’s stock levels are currently in equilibrium – unlike during the Covid-19 pandemic – during which the wine industry was not allowed to trade for 200 days, and the stock levels stood at 650 million litres,” said Rico Basson, Vinpro MD.
“With the smaller harvest, excellent quality wines, and the market that has turned from a buyers’ to a seller’s market, the South African wine industry is ready for business.”
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