Organic wines from South Africa

What does organic mean for wine? More and more winegrowers are opting for organic viticulture. How do organically produced wines differ from conventional wines? Whether a wine is organic is almost only decided in the vineyard. The relevant EU regulation has only been in force since 2012. What about organic wines from South Africa?

Since around the 1980s, there has been a growing awareness that the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides is harmful to the soil, winegrowers and consumers. A growing number of wine producers are therefore turning to controlled organic cultivation. There are now almost 300 different organic labels. But they all have this in common: they do not use herbicides against weeds, artificial fertilizers or chemicals to combat the numerous vine diseases. In addition, the soil between the rows of vines must be planted with wild plants and various clover and other species. This is important for the nutrient supply of the soil.

In areas with frequent rainfall, the vine is much more susceptible to fungal diseases such as powdery or downy mildew. For this reason alone, organic viticulture is much more demanding here. A lot of manual work and know-how is required to achieve a biological balance between beneficial organisms and pests in the vineyard.

In the wine cellar

There are also some restrictions for working in the cellar, although these are not particularly relevant for normal, conventional wine production. For example, the grape must may not be concentrated by freezing the water or by reverse osmosis. There are also some restrictions on the use of clarifying agents and heating the mash to over 40°C is prohibited.

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And in South Africa?

It has been very dry in South Africa for years. So you would think that the production of organic wines would be much easier here. Why aren’t there more organic wines from South Africa? In fact, only a handful of well-known wineries are certified organic.

There are various reasons for this – as various producers have explained to me:

– Environmentally friendly thinking and action is already firmly anchored and taken for granted in South Africa. Awareness and efforts to preserve this unique, largely intact natural environment are great. It is almost entirely in accordance with SWSA (Sustainable Wine South Africa) and IPW (Integrated Production of Wine Scheme) guidelines. The SWSA label in greenish color and a number is affixed to practically all wine bottles. This guarantees environmentally friendly and sustainable cultivation. The added value compared to organic production is low.

– In South Africa, it is also very important to consider the social balance. Good working conditions for workers are very important for wine producers. This includes, for example, the payment of fair wages and the promotion of less privileged people. The organic guidelines are useless for these aspects.

– the administrative effort and costs are high – too high for smaller companies

– downy mildew is a major problem in viticulture. To combat this fungal disease, large quantities of copper-containing preparations (2-4 kg copper/hectare) are permitted in organic farming due to a lack of alternatives. This heavy metal input causes lasting damage to the fauna and microorganisms in the soil. The copper accumulates in certain soil horizons and makes them infertile – this is not really “organic” at all.

– Organic farming prohibits the use of herbicides. Weeds must be removed mechanically. This tears up the soil and exposes it to erosion. This can be a major problem for light soils.

Conclusion

Organic is certainly very good, and we lead with Waverley Hills, Tulbagh we have the wines of probably the best producer of organic wine from South Africa in our range, but as described, there are other important aspects focused on South Africa that are not covered by an organic label. I think it’s important that our wine producers have a great awareness of how they treat nature and people and that they practice this – with or without a label.