Winemakers in South Africa’s Western Cape have been toasting to some good news.
This year’s, the grape farms not only came out unscathed from the harsh drought that hit the country, but also produced some of the finest wines in many years.
This has been an industry-wide phenomenon and winemakers are pointing to a number of reasons for their success including a stressed growing process and resilient hardy vines.
The farmers went through a phase of water stress during the drought, resulting in smaller berries with more concentrated flavors, something that was seen across the spectrum of white and red wines.
Unlike fruit farmers who lost around 80% in production due to scarce water resources, wine farmers lost around 15% as the vineyards require lesser water.
They were also proactive is adjusting their consumption and needs according to the growing process.
As rains now continue to pound the country, wine makers will be glad the win coming into the market will be of even better quality than that they enjoyed in the past.
