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This morning we picked the first grapes for the season and on 2 February, we celebrate SA wine’s 363rd birthday. The 2022 SA harvest is here. It is predicted to be slightly late again and slightly smaller, but I can feel the anticipation. Have you ever experienced the energy of a wine grape harvest? Here is what we expect from the 2022 harvest and a few ways in which you can become part of this special time in the winelands.

Like the previous growing season, the 2021 winter was cold and wet. Cooler and wet conditions persisted even until late December and as a result, the harvest will start at least ten days later than usual. The set of bunches and berries were good considering the conditions and at the moment Vinpro is predicting the overall harvest to be slightly smaller than in 2021, although this is not true for all regions. Yield expectations are quite varied for the different growing areas.

Such was his respect and reverence for their wines, Napoleon forced his troops to salute the vines of Gevrey-Chambertin as they marched through Burgundy, en route to a bit of strenuous French dictatorial conquering, violent mayhem and flashy blood-letting. Times are more peaceful now, thankfully, but if there are any South African vineyards worthy of a salute, a courteous nod or even a matey “howzit!”-thumbs-up, these are indeed the winelands of Constantia.

For sure, this is where the Cape wine industry began 337 years back when a foresighted Dutch fellow named Simon van der Stel picked Constantia as a pretty good place for planting vines and making wine. And with the sweet and other wines from the region being all the rage in Europe during the 1700s and 1800s – including a desired tipple of aforementioned Napoleon Bonaparte – Constantia has always given good story.

Harvest season has begun in the Cape Winelands and knowing when to harvest is a fine art. Choosing the perfect moment is a mix of style, balance and wisdom, let’s take a closer look at what makes grapes ready to harvest.

It is useful to know a bit about how a grape grows and develops. First, the vine comes out of winter dormancy and will start to bud in spring, around September. This is followed by flowering around November, where the flowers hope to be fertilised and be set to become a grape, known as fruit set. After this, the berries start growing in size and after 40 – 50 days will start a phase of ripening called veraison.

Ripening happens because of grape bunches exposure to sunlight and the ambient temperature of the vineyard.

De Grendel Proposal Hill Cap Classique Brut Rosé 2017

De Grendel Wine Estate is in the Durbanville Wine Appellation, though divorced from it by the Tygerberg Hills on whose southwest facing slopes it is situated. A mere 20 minutes from the city centre and the Cape Town International Airport.

Sir De Villiers & Lady Graaff

Proposal Hill is a hillock on the Estate on which Sir De Villiers Graaff, 2nd Baronet, proposed to his lady, Ina. This wine is a celebration of this day.

Pinot Noir Grapes ripening on the vine

A beautifully constructed wine by Charles Hopkins, the Founding Winemaker of the Estate. Made in the traditional Méthode Champenoise during which the wine undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. 19 days for first fermentation.

Tokara, the family owned Stellenbosch Wine and Olive Estate, has triumphed at the 2021 Global Fine Wine Challenge by securing the Trophy for the best New World Bordeaux blend and Double Gold for Cabernet Sauvignon.

The highly acclaimed Tokara Director’s Reserve Red 2018 clinched top honours in the Bordeaux Blend class, while the Reserve Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 garnered Double Gold. Both wines also excelled with 5-stars in the 2022 Platter’s South African Wine Guide.

The Six Nations Global Fine Wine Challenge, a new rendition of the original Tri-Nations Challenge established 18 years ago, is the only competition dedicated exclusively to the best of the best New World wines from the USA, Canada, Chile, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Many families of the wine world, predictably, ascribe their generational involvement with vineyards and wine to the grape’s elixir being for them “a way of life”. But experiencing the second flight of Franschhoek’s von Arnim clan now running their Haute Cabrière estate, one can firmly state that for this renowned part of Cape wineland family DNA, wine is not a “way” but truly is life itself.

The von Arnims’ blood, sweat and toil; hopes and dreams; their very essence of being and that place they command on earth – a place which the sun shines brightly on – is driven by nothing other than those 750ml bottles of fermented grape liquid they create. Wine grown and crafted to enrich the lives of others by a family whose soul centers around one of the most blessed, civilized and beautiful things this world has known.

Candice Nassen joined the team at Tokara in November 2021 as Assistant Winemaker to Stuart Botha. She’s a double graduate with degrees in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Cape Town, and Viticulture and Oenology from the University of Stellenbosch. Candice has gained extensive winemaking experience at acclaimed local and international cellars, completing vintages at Cederberg, Boekenhoutskloof and most recently at Boschkloof.

How did you get into winemaking?

After completing my first degree I wanted to continue my studies. I saw Agricultural studies as an option and thought it could be interesting, since I felt I had the personality for it and would enjoy it. I was accepted and started my journey at Elsenburg.

Tokara Reserve Collection Sauvignon Blanc 2021, the latest vintage of this acclaimed cool climate showstopper with its signature saline finish, fits like a glove with creamy West Coast mussels.

“Originating from arguably the finest terroir in the country, the wine showcases an exquisite aromatic diversity.” This is just one of the defining characteristics that stand out for winemaker Stuart Botha about the new vintage crafted from Tokara’s prized Elgin vineyards.

Enticing aromas of green apple and lime juice subtly interplay with Cape gooseberry and a wisp of blackcurrant leaf. On the palate, the wine has an amazing freshness with zesty green apple and a lingering saline finish.

South Africa’s pioneering Chardonnay-focused wine estate, De Wetshof in Robertson, is the only Cape wine on this year’s coveted list of Top 100 wines, as selected by the American magazine Wine Spectator, one of the world’s most influential wine publications.

The De Wetshof Bon Vallon Chardonnay 2020, one of the estate’s five site-specific Chardonnays, came in at number 92 in the Top 100, which is selected by Wine Spectator editors from the thousands of wines from around the world scrutinised throughout the year.

Bon Vallon is one of De Wetshof’s two unwooded Chardonnays and is no stranger to accolades having won numerous awards at South African wine competitions. According to Johann de Wet, CEO of De Wetshof, this year’s Wine Spectator Top 100 spot is a highlight in the Bon Vallon Chardonnay’s performance on the international stage.