SA’s vineyards need climate-proofing
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted that climate change could wipe out more than half of the world’s vineyards by 2050.
At an Old Vine Project (OVP) workshop held recently near Stellenbosch, OVP co-founder Rosa Kruger said wine farmers had to be far more strategic and take many more variables into account when planting new vineyards. This was all the more pertinent if they wanted their vineyards to last longer than 35 years in order to be classified as heritage vines.
According to Kruger, the selection of rootstocks and varieties should be based on their ability to withstand climatic shocks, such as floods and droughts, as well as their resilience to disease. One of her suggestions was to choose varieties that ripened earlier in the season, before heatwaves could affect the acidity in the wines.
VINEYARD DESIGN
In addition, far more attention needed to be paid to the design of vineyards to improve their water-use efficiency and drainage.
For example, planting vineyard rows in a north-west/south-east orientation could prevent sunburn caused by direct sunlight. If the
