Harvest time is here! After a dramatic weekend in the Franschhoek Valley, fighting veld fires, an earlier than usual start to the annual wine grape harvest brings a positive energy. The excitement is tangible at La Motte Wine Estate yesterday morning with the first 2026 Sauvignon Blanc being harvested.
“We’ve known since October that the harvest was going to be early”, says Cellarmaster Edmund Terblanche. “We are about two weeks earlier than usual, but the initial analyses are positive and I’m excited about the quality.”
The grapes reaching optimum ripeness earlier can also be attributed to the dry summer and high temperatures. According to Farm Manager, Jaco Visser, some of the Merlot in Paarl are already at 22.7 Degrees Balling and he expects the harvest to be quite a cascade into the cellar!
The La Motte Winemaking team is grateful for the blessing of another harvest and wishes their South African winemaking colleagues a successful 2026 season.
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