Vititec reports

What do you do in times of drought – dig for water! Vititec has a new borehole on the farm, which will supply water to its greenhouses and sheds where the grafted vines are stored.

Vititec has also been receiving vines from its various nurseries and seems off to a promising start. It has already received 614,000 vines, comprising 40% of its stock.

Vititec will supply 19 million buds (95% of the annual wine grape grafts) to vineyard nurseries this year. Producers must place next year’s orders with nurseries as soon as possible to be assured of the correct rootstock clones. Although there currently is a surplus of vines, increased demand could lead to a shortage of cultivars next year since speculative grafting is being kept to a minimum.

The following table shows an interesting trend in the top ten wine grapes in the world. Producers seem to be moving towards more “alternative” varieties.

Table: The world’s 10 most-planted varieties