SA wine harvest report 2022: Smaller wine grape crop packs a punch

[{“type”:”text”,”content”:”u201cA cool season and moderate weather conditions in most regions during harvest time slowed down ripening, which gave vines the opportunity to develop stunning flavour and colour in this yearu2019s wine grape crop,u201d says Conrad Schutte, consultation service manager of the wine industry body, Vinpro. This year, harvest time was delayed on average by 10 to 14 days.nnThe 2022 wine grape crop is estimated at 1 378 737 tons, according to an estimate by South African Wine Industry Information & Systems (SAWIS) in May 2022. This yearu2019s crop is 5.5% smaller than in 2021, but still larger than the five-year average of 1 346 024 tons.nn[Click here to read the full SA Wine Harvest Report 2022.](https://vinpro.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SOUTH-AFRICAN-WINE-HARVEST-REPORT-2022-online.pdf) nnA decline in the overall vineyard area due to the uprooting of vineyards is likely the reason behind this yearu2019s smaller wine grape crop. Other factors that influence the size of the crop include disease pressure caused by untimely rainfall around harvest time, and isolated cases of sunburn due to heatwaves in certain regions.nnu201cSouth Africau2019s wine industry is spread over a wide range of cultivation areas with diverse climatic conditions that affect the harvest differently in each region,u201d Conrad says. Most wine grape growing regions yielded a smaller crop, except for the Cape south coast and Stellenbosch regions.nn#### Exceptional winesnnu201cWine lovers are in for a treat when buying wines from the 2022 vintage,u201d Conrad says. u201cWeu2019re really seeing striking colour and flavour extraction from grapes in the cellar, thanks to a cooler season that slowed down ripening and provided the opportunity for these components to develop optimally.u201dnnConsumers can look forward to exceptional quality wines from a smaller 2022 South African wine grape crop. nnEarly cultivars were harvested at good flavour and sugar concentrations, with lower acidity and a higher pH level. Later cultivars benefited from dry, moderate temperatures during ripening, which led to full ripening at good sugar and alcohol levels.nnThe wine production for 2022 u2013 including juice and concentrate for non-alcoholic purposes, wine for brandy and distilling wine u2013 is expected to amount to 1 072.4 million litres at an average recovery of 778 litres per ton of grapes.nnu201cDespite harvest 2022 being slightly more challenging for our winemakers, we have already had the opportunity to taste some of the first releases of white wines, which have shown superb quality and are likely to aid the premiumisation of the category,u201d says Siobhan Thompson, CEO of Wines of South Africa (WoSA).nnu201cWhile we are still seeing a continued interest in South African sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, the continued challenges faced by exporters due to the global shipping chain constraints is somewhat of a dampener, which the industry hopes to mitigate in due time.u201dnnSouth Africa is the eighth biggest wine producer globally, producing about 4% of the worldu2019s wine. The wine industry contributes more than R55 billion to the countryu2019s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs close to 269 000 people throughout the value-chain, of which more than 80 000 people work on farms and in cellars.”,”position”:0,”id”:”kIK8areFCMFI8k8r”}]