With global warming a growing concern for winemakers, some vineyards in South Africa’s wine region of Cape Town are rethinking their methods to help mitigate the effects of higher tempertaures and drought, including leaving some of their land fallow to help regenerate the soil. Image: Wikus de Wet / AFP, dry, uprooted grapevines are stacked at the bottom of a hilly stretch of brown fallow land.
Like other wine farms surrounding the city of Stellenbosch, the Reyneke estate’s vineyards were ill-equipped to withstand climatic shocks, she said. To better deal with heavy rains, the new grapevines are being laid out to conform with the hilly landscape. Native shrubs have also been planted across the estate to increase biodiversity, bringing back insects and other animals in a bid to render the surrounding soil healthier.