Breedekloof winemakers are expecting a top quality 2008 vintage because cooler than normal conditions over the past year have resulted in slower ripening vines. A thunderstorm, which disrupted the harvest of certain varietals including Chenin Blanc, has not dampened their enthusiasm.

The winemakers said volumes of top quality Chenin Blanc would drop considerably in relation to recent years because of the 48mm of rain that fell on February 10. De Wet Lategan of Bergsig Estate said Chenin Blanc grapes had suffered the most because of the rain, which coincided with the start of the harvest.

While top quality Chenin Blanc volumes are expected to be far below expectations, the good news is that near idyllic conditions over the past year will ensure excellent quality because of the slow ripening conditions. "Some exciting wines will be made from Chenin Blanc," Lategan said.

Lategan, the region's winemaker of the year for 2007, said Chardonnay looked very promising with his best quality vineyards to be harvested about 10 to 14 days later than normal, due to the cooler than normal conditions. Among the red varietals, Cabernet Sauvignon in particular was looking good and he was optimistic that the late ripening red cultivars would be on a par with the celebrated 2005 harvest.

Willie Burger of Badsberg Winery said the overall quality was good, with better sugar to acid ratios than in previous years due to cooler ripening periods and good winter rains.

Burger said Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc were looking very good, but the Chenin Blanc and Cape Riesling had suffered because of the untimely storm. He expects that the wines will be of a very high quality, but that volumes will definitely be lower than in 2007 because damaged grapes will not be used for winemaking.

Stanley Louw of Opstal Estate said before the harvest had been going beautifully with amazing cool summer conditions, frequent rains and lots of overcast conditions with no real intense heat spells.

"This was really a fantastic build up to the 2008 crop. With perfect growing conditions the balance between crop and foliage was just fantastic. We had to trim and reduce the growth of the vines considerably, and were looking forward to a great quality crop," Louw said.

The effect of the rain storm is that cultivars like Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, with very tight compact bunches, absorbed a lot of water and expanded to such an extent that berries were visible beneath the vines.

"The problem with this scenario is that the little wine fly, that is ever-present, comes and infiltrates the pushed-out visible berries. The effect is high acidic acid levels that are not good for winemaking," Louw said.

The message had been passed to Breedekloof producers to get rid of the infected portions of the grape bunches. "Maintaining our quality profile has meant that we will have a much reduced crop and that the cost of bringing in the crop will be a lot higher. The economic impact on the producer will be great," Louw said.

For more information visit www.breedekloof.com or contact the Breedekloof Wine and Tourism information centre in Rawsonville at or on (023) 349 1791.

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