Vineyards in Stellenbosch‚ Overberg‚ Simonsberg and Kogelberg were ravaged by fire earlier this month‚ affecting some of South Africa’s best known winemakers including Rustenberg Wines‚ Uitkyk Wine Estate and Kanonkop.

According to VinPro‚ the R240‚000 figure includes loss of income and additional labour to uproot vines which have been damaged. The re-establishment of vines is also included in the cost estimate.

Alan Winde‚ Minister of Economic Opportunities‚ noted the figures released by VinPro this afternoon. He said that the Western Cape Department of Agriculture would this week conduct surveys to assess damage to agricultural land and infrastructure.