The Olifants River rain season kicked off later than usual, which gave our vineyards a chance to build up good reserves. After receiving rain in the first week of June 2024, the canes' leaves began to fall and their winter rest began. Temperatures, however, rose drastically, delaying vines to go into full dormancy up until the first week in July. Thereafter, the Olifants River overflowed in mid-July. The river came down several times with some vineyards being under water for about 2 months.
Our budding date was later than usual, resulting from a lower cold unit accumulation and forcing growers to start pruning late. Those who waited for sufficient cold units to accumulate were rewarded with good and even budding of their vines which will consequently bring a better harvest expectation. From September 21, we experienced a lot of easterly wind which helped to dry out the low-lying areas that were still under water, which finally allowed growers to control weeds and pests. By 28 September it started raining again combined with extreme cold on the night of 1 October.
Between 3 and 7 October we experienced very wet weather with temperatures varying between 35 and 41 degrees celsius. We received rain again between the 25th and 27th of October with the river flooding its banks once more and vines that had finished budding. Vines that were in full bloom suffered a lot of damage, which was clearly visible after the river receded.
Although Chenin Blanc only has 1 cluster per shoot, we can still expect an average to below average harvest from the cultivar. Nevertheless, cultivars that are known for poor set such as Hanepoot and Cabernet have had few changes, which makes us excited in terms of their potential production levels. The old faithful, Colombar, also looks promising this year with 2 to 3 clusters per shoot appearing in most places, while our beloved cultivar, Sauvignon Blanc looks average again.
The Olifants River expects a slightly above-average harvest and is therefore very optimistic about the prospects for the 2025 season.
The 2025 harvest season started around 15 January. Since then, we have been receiving some of the early varieties such as Colombar, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadel, and a little bit of Pinotage. We are still waiting on some of the later varieties to ripen properly.
Other than that, we are looking forward to the rest of the season!