Our living heritage

Funded by the British Academy through the UK government’s overseas development budget, the Living Heritage, Climate Change and Sustainability in South African Agriculture project brought together experts from Stellenbosch University, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Cagliari – in collaboration with the Old Vine Project and the Cultiver Group – to study South African wine producers’ response to climate change.

“The call was originally for a report on climate change and heritage,” explained Paul Nugent, principle investigator on the project. “And we thought, why not the vine as living heritage? It was really about trying to understand the ways in which producers in South Africa were understanding, anticipating and responding to climate change.”

Baseline survey

Charlotte Nell, owner and founder of Aquila Environmental, led a baseline survey of 64 producers as well as eight in-depth interviews across the Breede River Valley, Cape South Coast, and the Coastal region to obtain a clear picture of current practices, challenges and opportunities for adaptation in the industry.

The findings from this baseline study, along with other work packages, were presented at a project workshop at STIAS in Stellenbosch on 22 April 2026.

One of the most striking revelations of the study is that climate change is no longer a localised concern for “warm” regions. The data effectively debunks the idea that cooler coastal regions are insulated from environmental shifts. Roughly 86% of producers surveyed reported that climate change is already affecting them, whether through shifts in the growing season, differences in rainfall patterns, temperature changes, or pests and vine diseases.

“You might think that the warmer areas are most affected by climate change. This is not the case,” Charlotte says. “The percentage of producers reporting climate change effects on operations is effectively identical across the three regions – the Cape South Coast, the Breede River, and the Coastal area. It affects us all.”

Worried innovators

The study highlights a fascinating segment of the industry: the Old Vine producers. While traditionalism is often associated with maintaining heritage vineyards (those older than 35 years), the survey found that these farmers are actually the industry’s most enthusiastic innovators.

“Producers farming with old vines tend to be aggressive innovators,” Charlotte says. “There’s a strong positive correlation between having old vines and introducing new cultivars. More than 50% of the respondents interviewed have introduced new drought-tolerant cultivars on their farms in the past 5-10 years.”

However, this innovation is tinged with a specific type of pessimism. Although these producers are confident in their own operations, they are increasingly worried about the larger trajectory of the wine industry, Charlotte says. They are, in essence, fortifying “islands” of heritage against a system they perceive as increasingly fragile.

From sun to shade

Adaptation in the vineyard has required a fundamental shift in philosophy. For decades, viticulture focused on maximising sun exposure to ensure ripeness. Today, the primary strategy most producers are implementing has shifted to canopy management. “Canopy management is very important to producers in terms of climate change resilience,” Charlotte says. “That’s being done by maintaining denser canopies for shade, careful suckering, careful shoot positioning, adjusting canopy height, and using elevated or modified trellis systems to protect bunches from sunburn.”

Beyond the leaves, the choice of rootstock also emerged as a popular defence mechanism, with 75% of producers identifying it as a primary factor in climate resilience. “Rootstock selection came up again and again – something we did not anticipate when we initially developed the baseline survey,” Charlotte says. “Most respondents agreed that rootstock plays a critical role in climate change resilience and indicated it’s a very important or possibly the most important factor in becoming more resilient.”

Other interventions included soil and site analysis, as well as increased use of cover crops for stabilisation. Vineyard design is also becoming more architectural, with new plantings utilising contours, slopes, and water-diversion trenches to manage the twin threats of erosion and heavy rainfall.

Closing the gaps

Despite the high level of strategic thinking, an “action gap” persists. While producers are thinking about change, only 16% explicitly budget for climate adaptation. The barrier is often financial; the cost of uprooting and replanting is a heavy burden for an industry already under economic strain.

The survey also suggests the term “climate change” itself may be part of the problem. “A lot of the producers felt uncomfortable agreeing to an interview about climate change because it sounds big and scientific and a bit maybe a bit threatening,” Charlotte says. “But when you start speaking to producers, everybody is comfortable talking about heat and water struggles – and that’s actually what it’s about. So we should really think carefully about the language that we use if we want producers to be part of the conversation.”

Investing in people

Finally, the research underscored the vital role of the workforce. Old vines especially require more specific training, for instance, on pruning and canopy management. Interestingly, producers who invest in skills development for their workers are more likely to report environmental issues like soil erosion.

“Training creates awareness,” Charlotte explains. “And when you’re creating awareness, you actually get all of that information coming back to you. Problems reported by skilled teams are actually a measure of success, which shows the human awareness network on the farm is working.”

As South African viticulture looks toward the future, drawing lessons from similar climates, such as Sardinia, the path forward lies in the virtuous cycle between innovation and change. The good news is that South African producers are not starting from scratch; they are building on a foundation of generational experience and heritage that offers a promising platform for future climate-related interventions.