An entire year's labour is focused on roughly two months of the year when the grape farms in Namibia's Aussenkehr Valley pack their fruit to supply the lucrative pre-Christmas market in Europe and the UK.
Table grape vineyards in Namibia's Aussenkehr Valley
The impetus to pack as quickly as possible was great this year, given the pull from the markets, and the Namibian grape harvest started on time. There was also a sharpened focus on the Namibian harbour of Walvis Bay for local grapes, instead of trucking it across the border to South Africa's Cape Town harbour.
A number of Namibian farms have already cleared their vineyards, while others are taking off their last cultivars of the early varieties in which the region specialises.
"It has been a normal season with outstanding quality," remarks Kobus Bothma, executive director of Capespan Namibia. "At this stage, the season is about five days ahead of the previous season. The quality is excellent, better than last season."
The grapes are being packed away very quickly, substantial volumes every day, he adds, and the last Aussenkehr farms will be through all of their blocks within two weeks.
"The weather has been very favourable during the harvest. We had only 0.5mm rain which had no effect at all on the packing or the quality."
The grape harvest in the Orange River region is expected to run until the end of January, while the harvest has commenced in the Western Cape.
For more information:
Kobus Bothma
Capespan Namibia
Email: https://www.capespan.com/namibia-grape-company/