With half of De Wetshof’s annual rainfall bucketing down over three days in January, harvest 2014 was never going to be anything but challenging. The Robertson estate and Chardonnay pioneer was dealt 142mm of rain over a three-day period, presenting a deftly flung curve-ball to cellarmaster Danie de Wet and his team.
“With last year’s cold winter, we were always going to commence harvesting two weeks later than usual as the vines shut-down completely and got a good rest,” says winemaker Peter de Wet. “And during the flowering and bud-break, things were looking even-keel, that is until the heavens opened a few weeks ago and we saw enough water to make a camel head for cover.”
Fortunately soils were very dry when the rain fell and were thus able to easily absorb half of the rain water falling in the short period, thus averting any threat of flooding.
However, whereas fruit-farmers in the Western Cape suffered damage as the result of the rain, De Wetshof’s vines shook off the moisture and are back in the business of ripening grapes for this year’s harvest.
“Robertson is blessed with dry air and southerly breezes, so once the clouds disappeared we had two weeks of uninterrupted sunny weather with midday temperatures playing between of between 28°C and 32°C,” says De Wet. “The soils dried out nicely and together with the afternoon breezes, the grapes have thus far not been attacked by any form of rot.
“The effect of the wet weather was seen in the above-average yields shown by some of our younger Pinot Noir blocks which we harvested in the third week of January for our Limelight range.”
According to De Wet, the real harvest on De Wetshof will commence at the beginning of February when the Chardonnay is picked.
“Some 70% of our production is Chardonnay, and at this stage sugars are running at between 16° – 18.5° balling, with optimum ripeness occurring at 23°. But of course, you want the correct degree of ripeness with the balance between sugar, acid and pH at levels being in line with the quality and style of the wine you desire. So what you want straightened out, needs to be done in the vineyard – once the grapes are in the cellar, there is no turning back. The vines require our attention for 365 days a year and we don’t want to lose focus in the last two weeks. If the weather remains as is, we look forward to another harvest of quality grapes from different sites, each expressing their unique characteristics and allowing us to make a range of distinctive wines with a personality of their own.”
