GG_N49_ESP

SOUTH AFRICA
NEW GENERATION
WATERWISE
VONDELING’S VINEYARDS RUN OFF THE SOUTH-FACING SLOPES OF THE PAARDEBERG
MOUNTAIN WHERE THE DECOMPOSED GRANITE SOIL AND HABITUAL AFTERNOON SOUTH
WESTERLY WINDS GIVE THE WINES VIBRANCY IN AN OTHERWISE WARM CLIMATE AREA
ALMENKERK IN ELGIN IS HOME TO A SPECTACLE OF FAUNA AND FLORA AND THEY HAVE
COMBINED ORCHARDS AND VINEYARDS TO EXPRESS THE DIVERSITY FOUND HERE
A country like South Africa, struck by prolonged
drought, has established a conservation consciousness
throughout its wine value chain while
maintaining the best possible quality in the most
financially sustainable way. Vondeling viticulturalist,
Magnus Joubert, believes this process
starts in the soil, and a mixture of cover crops is
used to preserve soil health. “This year, we used
black oats (Saia oats), radish, mustard, vetch and
lupines. This way, you cover a broader spectrum of
material you put back in the soil: Saia gives green
manure, radish helps with aeration, mustard helps
protection against nematodes, and vetch provides
good ground cover that helps with weed control
and moisture retention in the soil. The lupines are
a source of nitrogen fixation, and the cover crop
keeps the soil alive. We use mulch in the form of
Canola bales to help with moisture retention in the
soil, and weed control. It breaks down to build soil
health and build up carbon in the soil”.
Graham Beck recycles all its sewerage water from
the farm and cellar. “All recycled water is utilised
for irrigation of the vineyards, amounting to about
three million litres per month”, says Ferreira. “We
have reduced our water usage to a maximum of
6,000 m 3 per hectare yearly through constant and
regular neutron moisture probe readings”.
Spier became a WWF-SA Conservation Champion
in 2012 and had been focusing on rehabilitating
the riparian systems that flow through the farm.
“This includes wetland rehabilitation, removing
alien vegetation and planting indigenous riverine
species that consume much less water”. Since
establishing the Spier Nursery, it has planted over
100,000 trees, shrubs, Fynbos, and over a million
bulbs.
When the Almenkerk-family acquired their Elgin
estate in 2004, they decided to restore sections of
the property to their original state, as identified in
Botanist Helmes’ report of 2002. “Water was the
first concern to arise, as the dam never filled its full
potential during the rainy period”. Just by clearing
alien vegetation to free water, did it freely start
running into the dam during the rainy period,
80 AUTUMN 2022 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE