In the book ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel, the world is hit by the ‘Georgian Flu’ which wipes out most of the population. In the aftermath the remaining group of survivors live out a life without technology or electricity in a strange kind of limbo. A travelling troupe of would-be actors travel from informal settlement to informal settlement acting out the works of Shakespeare. Their caravans are labeled ‘The Traveling Symphony’, with the lead caravan carrying an additional line of text: ‘Because survival is insufficient.’ And it is, because we need to live.
We will not sugarcoat it, the Western Cape is in the midst of one of the worst droughts we’ve ever seen, so much so that our beloved Cape Town may very well be the first major city in the world to ever run out of water. Environmental groups can sit back and say ‘We told you so’ and the reality of the current situation might just lead to our LISTENING in the future. But far from pointing fingers, we feel that it might just be time to get on with it.
Let’s look at the realities of the drought as pertaining to our wine industry.
PROS:
* Grapes are one of the top ten drought tolerant plants out there. In fact dry farming (the practice of non-irrigation) is almost desirable in most cases, in France irrigation is even illegal in some of the top appellations.
* Places like the island of Santorini in the Aegean which receives no more than 10 inches of rain per year, have been making beautiful wines for over 2000 years. Other areas such as the Duoro region of Portugal and Spain have been producing world class wines without irrigation forever. The lack of water here has come to define the wines and the varietals, proving that there are lesser known varietals around the world, that might be better suited to the climate change we are currently experiencing.
* South Africa is in the happy position, as frontier wine country, to experiment. Unlike France, we are not legally bound to any one varietal, meaning we are free to plant and replant in order to find out what varietals will survive and thrive in this new climate (literally). In fact, I had the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Francois Viljoen, Manager of Vinpro, who informed me that they have been experimenting with these hardier, Mediterranean varietals in a project, aptly titled GenZ since last year to find out just WHAT we should be focussing on. Their findings are due to go live soon, though the data they will collect during this year, will be fundamental to our understanding of the options available to us.
* Old vines have better developed root systems and are therefore better equipped to find ground water during a period of drought. South Africa’s old vines therefore stand to make even more unique wines during this period, of which we’re keen to keep an eye on the various planting of old vine Chenin that exist.
* Elgin and the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley have enough water to sustain their winemaking practices at present.
* South Africa is currently riding a wave {pun intended} of young, adventurous winemakers who are innovating, actively choosing alternative varietals, smarter winemaking techniques and looking abroad for more information. We’re forearmed.
* We are not alone. Various wine producing areas have been experiencing the effects of drought. So much so that winemakers in Oregon, USA, have set up a coalition entitled ‘The Deep Roots Coalition’ which advocates dry farming. Their goals are manifold and deeply resonate with our current dilemma. Focussing on the conservation and wise use of our precious water resources in growing wine grapes; creating more authentic and high-quality wines resulting from natural wine growth; the use of organic and non-interventionest methods in the vineyard and in the cellar; following the requirements of quality wine appellations in Europe- in which irrigation is not permitted; educating the public about the benefits of non-irrigated vineyards, both in regard to water conservation and wine authenticity; educating fellow vintners about the need to search out appropriate vineyard sites and continuing research into dry farming.
* It would also be worth mentioning that it is not the grapes but the wineries that require a lot of water, most of the facilities having been established during a time when water usage wasn’t a consideration. Therefore smart, waterless winemaking practices can also be applied in the long run to further stem the use of unnecessary water.
* And finally, dry farming produces unique terroir-specific wines. To quote The Deep Roots Coalition: “The idea of terroir is that wine should reflect the “place” from which it emanates. To that end, the concept of “place” includes soil composition and depth, degree and direction of slope, latitude, temperature regime and precipitation. The criteria of precipitation include how much, when and the manner in which it occurs. Obviously if one introduces irrigation to the equation, the all-important parameter of precipitation is eliminated and terroir no longer applies to the resulting wine.” Which for us means that we’ll be making more proudly South African wines (once we’ve established which varietals are best suited to our terroir). Case in point our 2015 and 2017 crops have produced incredible wines thus far, though admittedly less than previous years.
CONS:
* The uprooting of vineyards that have become unsustainable will be a costly exercise.
* The subsequent experimentation will not only be costly, but time consuming.
* Our industry and economy will suffer inevitable losses, concentrated on our large-scale wine production, increasing prices and decreasing volume.
* We will have smaller yields (more flavourful - but smaller), therefore less wine in general.
* The 12 varieties that make up 80% of the grapes grown, think Merlot, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, might very well not be the varietals that prove sustainable. The problem being that we will need to start marketing the more obscure, wily varietals from the Mediterranean and by extension create a demand for these commensurate with the demand currently enjoyed by the big 12 in order to ensure their production. It can be considered a con at this time… though we are choosing to look at it as a CHALLENGE.
Yes, things are looking dire, but we get to choose how we react. Change is inevitable, and what has become clear is that our current way of life is unsustainable. It doesn’t mean that LIFE is unsustainable, it means our WAYS are, and THAT we can change. In 1939 the British government published the motivational poster ‘Keep Calm and Carry On' in preparation of World War II, where LIFE was under threat. Where war was that generation’s cross to bear, this is ours {and war, though not in our fair Cape}.
While individually we need to relook our water usage and for God sakes not flush a bloody toilet unnecessarily, here are things YOU can do to support the wine industry:
Educate yourself about the more wily, drought resistant varietals of the Mediterranean - see what appeals to you and be open to experimentation.
In your daily routine consider your environment, wherever you are, you know what that entails… walk wherever you can, buy local produce, use water and energy conservatively, don’t be wasteful…be MINDFUL.
Do NOT become pessimistic or complacent, become informed.
To that end we have made a selection of wineries already using more drought resistant varietals for you to try. Who knows, in time we might discover a Super South African clone to match the vigour of the land.
For those intrigued by the Deep Roots Coalition, as we were, read more here: http://www.deeprootscoalition.org/