Hamilton Russell loses roughly 10% of its vineyards in Hemel-en-Aarde inferno

Friday, 18 January, 2019

WineLand, Anton Pretorius

The devastating fire that’s been raging in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley outside Hermanus since Wednesday, 9 January had destroyed approximately 10 hectares of vineyards and caused extensive damage at Hamilton Russell Vineyards.

An eyewitness on the scene, Conrad Schutte, assistant manager at Vinpro’s consultation services, was in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley on Friday when the fire spread. He told WineLand Media that there “was a lot of panic and confusion.” Montgomerie informed Schutte that Hamilton Russell has lost approximately 2.5 ha of Sauvignon blanc vineyards at its Southern Right site. “Around 3-4 ha Pinot Noir suffered heat damage and one hectare of a young vineyard block also suffered extensive damage,” Schutte said.

He also said that the staff at Hamilton Russell have been working around the clock to restore the damage caused by the fire.