According to the country's recently published harvest report, this year's total harvest was about 5.5 percent lower than in the previous record year of 2021, but still above the five-year average of 1.35 mill. tons. An even lower yield had actually been expected due to, among other things, the capricious weather that caused a difficult autumn and various vineyard clearings.
On average, harvesting took place later than usual. A cool, wet spring had delayed budbreak and extended the growing season, while local heat waves occurred in December and January - coinciding with surprising rainfall in other regions. According to Wines of South Africa, exceptionally good qualities were harvested. Above all the white wine tastings were convincing.
Satisfaction with the autumn varied from region to region:
- Optimistic reports came from Cape South Coast, Klein Karoo and Worcester.
- Reports from the Northern Cape and Swartland were more skeptical.
- Stellenbosch reported a slightly larger harvest than last year.
- In the other regions, advantages and disadvantages seemed to balance each other out.
