Whine For the End Of the World

On a day like today, a scorching 38°C in December, one wonders how people can still think climate change is some psychotic-lobby-group myth. After a solid week-and-a-half of unseasonably hot weather, with humidity that is unheard of in our summers, you get plain peeved at those people’s opinions that deny the existence of scientific fact. They are basically saying, “Stuff you farmers, we don’t care if you need to make a living and the climate change you feel is real; we don’t live off the climate like you do, but our belief system knows better than your daily physical observations.”

Then I get to thinking: This could be the end! The summer solstice could precipitate Armageddon anyway, why moan? The Mayan long-count calendar ends the current 13^th b’ak’tun on the 21^st of December; for those in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice, I might add. So, is this the end of the world, or the end of a particular epoch? Or, as Y2K did, shall it pass with nothing more than another sunrise and sunset?

You may be forgiven for thinking it’s the end of the world in Kiribati, Maldives, Marshall Islands or Tuvalu. Many of these atoll island nations are already planning their mass evacuations due to rising sea-levels. That stupid climate change again…

Or perhaps you’re in London and it’s once again, dreary and bloody cold, with those ‘lovely’ sunsets before four in the freekin’ afternoon! Does the world end in fire or ice? Well, to us in the Southern Hemisphere it must be fire, we’re burning up! To those in the United Kingdom, it must be a winter tempest of epic proportions. To the islanders, we’re all going to drown in water of biblical proportions.

For some, the apocalypse is delayed; it arrives in January with that long list of Christmas gifts gleefully charged with reckless abandon in December. Only, to later bite one’s bank account in the ‘other word for a donkey.’

So as 2012 comes to a close and we all reflect on the year and what may, or may not come, raise your glasses! Forget about all these troubles for a couple sacred days of vacation during the festive season. Forget if 2012 was great or not, forget if the apocalypse looms or not, forget if you’re a climate change skeptic or pundit. Just think: Is it hot or is it cold? Is it time for a red or a white? How many family and friends do I have? How much wine must I get?

For to whine at this time of year is futile, we shall thus wine. Wine and dine and worry about worldly troubles in 2013, for ‘tis the season to be mildly intoxicated with loved ones; as long as one takes public transit or stays put. Whatever the Mayans may have you believe; be certain: If no asteroid hits us, we’ll be looking after the grapes for you, despite our climate being a royal pain in the rear end. Rest assured we’ll be making you the best the vine has to offer for New Years 2013 and beyond.

Du Toitskloof wishes you and yours a trouble-free end to the 13^th b’ak’tun, a blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

European Pain, South African Gain?

It is tough to gloat off other producers’ misfortune. Being involved in the wine industry means the pain of poor harvests is understood and empathized with, to the utmost degree. Our season is still in its infancy in South Africa, while the northern hemisphere has run its course and harvest has concluded. However, this season is less than stellar for them.

On the back of a very hot and dry summer, many viticulture regions in Spain and Italy have seen significant losses due to the worst drought in 30 years. Much of the Mediterranean was also plagued by record-breaking wild-fires in the scorching summer of 2012. It is estimated that Italy has not seen such a dismal crop since 1950. It is indeed tragic for our European counterparts.

Decanter also reports that the wine glut is almost over. According to Rabobank in The Netherlands, the demand-supply gap, caused by good crops in the years preceding the economic downturn of 2008 and the subsequent drop in demand because of it, is close to being closed. Global inventories of wine are reported to be at the lowest levels last seen a decade ago.

This coupled with a poor Chilean harvest in 2011 and recent reports coming out of Adelaide, that the Barossa Valley has seen significant frost damage during October cold-snaps; this may herald the season of the South African producer.

The UK supermarket chain, Booths and their wine-buyer, Andy Green, have already told The Telegraph that wine is already being actively sought from countries like South Africa. On the back of all the aforementioned, wine from Europe is becoming more expensive and wine is generally in short-supply. Something we have not experienced since the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

China’s increased consumption, the growth of non-traditional markets, like Africa, plus the recovery of the United States economy, is contributing towards closing this supply-demand gap. Experts, according to The Telegraph, agree that wine prices could rise by a further 10% this year in the UK.

Currently, our growing season in South Africa has barely begun. It is often difficult to predict crop-yields this early in the season. However, the weather conditions at this juncture seem to be playing along with the South African producers. We have seen a relatively cool, benign spring with moderate winds and light rainfall. Winter was unusually, more on the wetter side of the scale, meaning drought conditions this summer are highly unlikely. The El Niño Southern Oscillation, the weather phenomenon which drives El Niño (Pacific-warming) and La Niña (Pacific-cooling) weather events, is also in stasis. This means our Southern African weather patterns should remain close to normal into 2013.

All the above factors could mean 2013 may be the year for the South African producer. If all predictions hold up, the weather cooperates, local producers play their cards right and wine-demand is anything to go by, we could be in for a great year. Although this comes off the back of some dismal crop news from Europe and some hiccups with our southern counterparts, South Africa’s wine industry seems to be mooted to fill the gap. If we can do this in 2013, hopefully we can show off our quality and win over some permanent new clientele; Keep them buying South African wine, even when crops in the northern  hemisphere improve.

Away From Glass

DuToitskloof-Fairtrade 75cl TetraPak wines

I am definitely a wine traditionalist. Nobody can deny the joys of sitting in a gorgeous setting, preferably on a Cape wine estate, pulling the cork out of an elegant bottle, hearing the pop sound followed by the aroma of a stunning nose reaching for oxygen for the very first time. There is nothing like the cork and bottle combination that screams wine sophistication and I’m a sucker for the elegantly-wasted.

However, times are a-changin’ and those who do not follow trends are relegated to the trash-heap of formally glorious brand names, like a viticultural Pan Am. The latest wine-spawn of the ever forward-thinking DuToitskloof Cellar is wine-in-a-box. However, I’m not referring to those now famous three litre boxes, the ones that Constantia house-wives hide in their fridge. I’m talking about their new United Kingdom venture with Waitrose and importers, Raisin Social.

This is a 750ml bottle of wine in a Tetra Pak. You know what this packaging looks like, even though its name may be unfamiliar, the concept definitely is not. Many a trip to Pick ‘n Pay, Tesco or Publix is dominated by Tetra Pak items from milk to juice to even olive oil, so why not wine? After all, who’s 2012 Best Value for Money Cellar? Would we not expect them to find ways of saving on packaging costs to bring the consumer wine at the best prices possible?

“You wine heathen,” I can hear people scream, the vitirati would be appalled and would not be caught dead pouring out of such a low-class contraption. Is there method in DuToitskloof’s madness, is there a glimmer of genius in this blatant anti-traditionalist move?

Fairtrade in the UK is big business and DuToitskloof being as big a Fairtrade project as it is, bringing the cellar’s name and its responsible production partner together in one package, can only benefit the brand.

Glastonbury Festival and Hyde Park concerts are synonymous with this island nation. The Brits love to get out into an open field and have a party, once cloud cover is down to only seventy percent and temperatures soar to a searing 18°C. This is a market that is hostile to the bottle. No glass on the grass, please!

We are British, so also do it green, please. Unlike China, Europe and the UK actually realises that earth’s resources are finite and they actually sign climate accords. Tetra Pak constitutes only four percent of the net product weight, versus forty percent for glass. It’s fully recyclable, can be easily compacted when disposed of, transports more efficiently and takes up less storage space. It ticks all the right tree-hugger boxes, but fails in the, “May I open that for you, monsieur,” department. Not to mention the responsible producer guarantee that comes with the Fairtrade stamp. Unlike China, Fairtrade labour is… well, you get the point!

However, when it’s somewhat sunny, does the UK huddle up indoors or at restaurants? Or does the isle spend time outdoors, sucking up the northern summer for what little it provides. This is the lifestyle DuToitskloof-Fairtrade 75cl Tetra Pak aims to become part of. Bringing wine to the wine drinker where bottle openers, glass and heavy weight is a liability; think a picnic overlooking a glorious sunset with a Cabernet-Merlot or drinking a chilled Chenin-Sauvignon styled white under a waterfall. Now, that’s living life and enjoying life is what the wine lifestyle is all about. So, maybe DuToitskloof is not so insane after all.

Global Warming Wine Warning

Molenaars River – Slanghoek Peak and Slanghoek Needle with snow, seems to be diminishing each year.

Perhaps I should have written this is summer. It becomes almost impossible to punt a climate change agenda when most people are pining for the sunny days of braais and pools to return. However, I chose winter for one reason: we lose it, we lose the crop and you lose your wine.  Winter is arguably our most critical season as it provides the majority of wine-growing regions worldwide with that one thing nothing can live without, water.

Grapes are a Mediterranean crop, this means it thrives best in a Mediterranean Climate, characterised by balmy, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Arguably, the Mediterranean Climate is the most pleasant climate-type worldwide; being neither too cold, nor too warm, being neither too humid, nor too arid, neither frost-prone or snowy. It is situated within the climate sweet spot between the subtropics and the cooler temperate latitudes, between hot deserts and wetter maritime climates. This places these areas at greatest risk due to climate change. Laying in such a precarious sweet spotmeans that any minor global temperature increase can cause the sweet spot to move poleward, leaving that area arid, hot and starved of vital winter precipitation.

It is something that worries innumerable wine producers. We are the first to notice minor changes to weather patterns. A city-dweller’s livelihood is not directly related to what the troposphere is doing, so it’s understandable that many are not aware of these changes. Trust us, they’re happening and they’re worrisome indeed.  The canary in the coal mine is mountain snowfall and it is drastically deceasing year-on-year.

Many people are excited by the prospect of warm winter days.We are not, by any means, pleased by it. Yes, we enjoy breaks in the rain and cold, same as anyone, but when it carries on for weeks, our level of anxiety rises precipitously. Urbanites may chastise the weather every time it bestows its winter best on the Cape, but remember where your water, food and drink comes from. Without those July tempests, your grocery bill will skyrocket and taps in the summer will run dry.

What would climate change do to the local wine industry? First and foremost, summer drought reaches critical levels, thereby affecting the ability to irrigate the vines, reducing yields, causing intolerable stress to the vineyards and causing significant reduction in crop-yields. Secondly, winters become warmer, negatively impacting the ability of the vines to enter their period of dormancy. This reduces the next season’s yield and makes for an unsustainable annual growth cycle. Already, producers are struggling to get vines pruned before budding begins. Premature budding results in heightened crop damage risk, as early-Spring storm and wind events damage the delicate shoots. Thirdly, summers simply become too hot. This exacerbates evaporative losses worsening drought conditions and intensified heat-waves literally turn plump, flavourful grape berries to raisins, directly on the vines.

This all means the consumer pays more for less. Overstressed vines do not produce quality fruit which means a lower quality product in the bottle. Successive lower crop-yields and failed harvests mean one of two things: producers either go bust, or wine prices skyrocket.

All these eventualities are not yet reality, but if trends continue unabated, it will come to fruition. So what can we do? Firstly, be thankful for those irritating rainy winter days, we don’t know how long they will last. Secondly, do what you can to reduce your carbon-footprint, either through driving more efficient vehicles, using public-transit where possible, conserving energy and recycling. Thirdly, buy sustainable products; either FairTrade, IPW or Biodiversity & Wine Initiative accredited wines.

We cannot curtail climate change alone and neither can you, however, if we all do a little, we have a massive collective impact. Help us to continue to farm so you can continue to get great wines at great prices: be a buddy to the Earth.