Annelie Viljoen, our viticulturist responsible for managing all our contract growers who supply us with the grapes for the Kadette range of wines, joined the Kanonkop team in 2017. Never shy to get her hands dirty, she commands respect from her peers in a traditionally male-dominated environment.
On her daily trips to almost 30 different farms in the Stellenbosch region, few viticulturists have a better idea as to the state of affairs of South Africa's premium wine-growing region.
Annelie had the following to say about the 2021 vintage:
"Due to the wet winter and cool growing conditions we experienced during spring, the vines are growing at a rapid pace. The bunches are big with well set shoulders, indicating a bigger than normal harvest, especially on the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. At this stage we are actively busy with bunch thinning / removal and breaking off bunch shoulders to facilitate better colour development in the remaining berries.
Every shoot is being evaluated individually according to its thickness, length and the degree of lignification (level of ripeness). All the small bunches that develop on the side shoots, as well as the green and half-coloured ones, are removed. Bunches on short, thin or green (unripe) main shoots are also removed.
The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are showing signs of early veraison, which will result in them reaching full ripeness at more or less the same time, together with some of the later-ripening Pinotage vineyards. This in turn means that the planning around cellar space, and the monitoring of sugar levels, will be crucial.
Quite a number of the older Pinotage vineyards are showing a decline in their yields. Since the start of bud break during September / October 2020, we noticed that these older vineyards were budding at a slower and more uneven rate than previous years. Their leaves were very yellow too - a direct result of the lower ground temperatures due to the extra levels of soil moisture in the early parts of spring.
At this stage there are very little signs of sunburn damage on the bunches. This is partly due to the fact that, for a number of years now, we are trying to expose the bunch zone earlier by removing green growth shortly after flowering. The result is one of "conditioning", i.e. the berries are getting used to direct sunlight at a young age and they tend to develop a tougher skin to better protect them from the harsh sun. While the season has been relatively cool thus far, we did have some exceptional warm days from 11 - 14 January, with temperatures between 34 and 38.7 degrees Celsius.
Occasional damage to leaves and bunches were caused by downy mildew. This had very little effect on the quality of the bunches, as the contaminated areas dehydrated and fell off.
We are now busy with "veraison irrigation", which will assist with colour development in the berries as well as the rest of ripening. Ideally speaking we would have preferred it if this was the final irrigation before the harvest, but with the customary heat waves we expect during February, we will most likely still have to administer some water in order to refresh the vines.
My overall impressions are that the quality prospects for the 2021 vintage are fantastic, and I am excited to see the final results!"
