Three hectares of vineyards have been damaged in a wildfire that raged on the historic Neethlingshof wine estate near Stellenbosch in the Western Cape since earlier this week.
Estate manager De Wet Viljoen confirms to Food For Mzansi that different varieties of vines have been damaged, including Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer.
There has been no threat to lives in the blaze, which broke out early on Monday evening. The 300-year-old buildings and infrastructure on the estate – considered one of the oldest in South Africa – has also been declared safe, Viljoen says. A damage assessment is, however, currently underway.
READ: Firefighters battle blaze at historic wine estate
“The fire is under control and has been contained. It is obviously still smouldering, and we are monitoring the situation just to make sure it does not flare up again.
“As soon as the fire starts dying down, we will do mop-up (operations) and we will do a full damage assessment. At this stage, we have lost about three hectares of vines due to the fire. We need to assess the situation once we can get to the area that has been affected.”
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