Articles
Chenin blanc adaptation to various South African terroirs illustrating resilience to climate change –
a viticulturist’s perspective
Article number
1430_25
Pages
167 – 170
Language
English
Abstract
Chenin blanc is to be found in every vinicultural district of the Western Cape.
It was thought to have arrived in the Cape with the first plant material imported in the mid-1600s by then Governor Jan van Riebeck.
It was in the 20th century however that it became more widely planted replacing Ugni Blanc as a base for brandy production by the KWV. It proved itself capable of high production while producing good quality wines.
South Africa has a large variety of climate zones and terroirs with Winkler index regions II, III, IV and V evident.
Annual rainfall varies from 100 mm to over 1000 mm in the Western Cape.
There are potential learnings from the South African experience for producers in the Loire and elsewhere with an eye to climate change from this variability.
Chenin blanc makes up 18.6% of the total wine grape vineyard area in South Africa.
It produces 34% of the white grapes crushed and 23% of the total wine harvest (SAWIS, 2017). With 17,543 ha of Chenin, South Africa is the largest producer of this variety in the world.
The numbers alone tell a story of the success of the variety from an agricultural point of view.
Geographical distribution/concentration and longevity of vineyards/varieties suggest their suitability to particular terroirs retrospectively.
The wide distribution, continued culture, high concentration fairly define the success for both the farmer as well as the continued demand from the market.
The versatility of Chenin blanc in South Africa points firmly at the adaptability, resilience and longevity of the variety under various and ever changing conditions.
The experience and observations of viticulturists working with Chenin blanc in South Africa find it to be drought tolerant, heat tolerant, high bearing and resilient in terms of recovery from stress conditions.
The constraints of Chenin blanc from a climatic point of view in the South African context are cold growing conditions with intermittent summer rainfall exposing the susceptibility of the variety to Oïdium and Botrytis. The longevity of the Chenin blanc vineyards provides winemakers with an opportunity for complex, textured, fine wines of superior quality from the older vineyards.
It was thought to have arrived in the Cape with the first plant material imported in the mid-1600s by then Governor Jan van Riebeck.
It was in the 20th century however that it became more widely planted replacing Ugni Blanc as a base for brandy production by the KWV. It proved itself capable of high production while producing good quality wines.
South Africa has a large variety of climate zones and terroirs with Winkler index regions II, III, IV and V evident.
Annual rainfall varies from 100 mm to over 1000 mm in the Western Cape.
There are potential learnings from the South African experience for producers in the Loire and elsewhere with an eye to climate change from this variability.
Chenin blanc makes up 18.6% of the total wine grape vineyard area in South Africa.
It produces 34% of the white grapes crushed and 23% of the total wine harvest (SAWIS, 2017). With 17,543 ha of Chenin, South Africa is the largest producer of this variety in the world.
The numbers alone tell a story of the success of the variety from an agricultural point of view.
Geographical distribution/concentration and longevity of vineyards/varieties suggest their suitability to particular terroirs retrospectively.
The wide distribution, continued culture, high concentration fairly define the success for both the farmer as well as the continued demand from the market.
The versatility of Chenin blanc in South Africa points firmly at the adaptability, resilience and longevity of the variety under various and ever changing conditions.
The experience and observations of viticulturists working with Chenin blanc in South Africa find it to be drought tolerant, heat tolerant, high bearing and resilient in terms of recovery from stress conditions.
The constraints of Chenin blanc from a climatic point of view in the South African context are cold growing conditions with intermittent summer rainfall exposing the susceptibility of the variety to Oïdium and Botrytis. The longevity of the Chenin blanc vineyards provides winemakers with an opportunity for complex, textured, fine wines of superior quality from the older vineyards.
Authors
M. Ventrella
Keywords
adaptability, versatility, heat tolerance, climate change, old vines
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