We’ve often wondered to ourselves what Viticulturists‘  actually do and how they come to be one, and why they would choose to spend all day wandering through the vineyards in the beautiful sunshine rather sit behind a desk…. To try and figure this out, we asked one of our experts, Unathi Mantshogo , one of the viticulturists at KWV Wines.

Me: How do you become a viticulturist?

Unathi: You need to obtain a formal qualification in the field from a recognised University or College. It is important not to miss this step as this is the base upon which you will sometimes defend your recommendations.

The vineyard is a perennial plant and so training in the vineyard over a couple of years will help you to gain the experience that is needed.

Me: What does your average day at work?

Unathi: This depends entirely on the season:

Post-harvest (April – June) you’ll find us both in the office with administration work and consulting in the vineyards.

Pruning season (June – September) we make recommendations of when to start pruning the vines.

Pre-season (September – January) we evaluate which canopy manipulation methods are most suitable for the grapes. We base these decisions on weather predictions and the stage of the fruit and cultivar.

And lastly during harvest season (End January – Begin April) we take samples in the vineyard to determine when would be best to harvest the grapes.

Me: What’s the worst part of your job?

Unathi: Sampling a vineyard at 14h00 in the afternoon during a heat wave.

Me: What is the best part of your job?

Unathi: Every season offers a new experience and so viticulture is not a monotonous job. Bearing the elements in mind, I have to decide when to harvest to produce an award winning wine. Finally tasting an award winning wine and knowing that I played a critical role in its production is the ultimate reward!

Me: So why did you choose to become a Viticulturist?

Unathi: I have a passion for nature and all things green so choosing this as a career was a simple choice for me. I also love the outdoors and being apart of a process with such rewarding results.

The 2010 harvest is proving to be slightly tricky because our Western Cape weather is just not playing along nicely. Today for example, was hot and muggy and the heavens have just opened so the rain is pouring down. Not ideal weather for a harvesting season. As a result we haven’t managed to take more photos of the harvest, because the grapes are coming in quite slowly. But in the meantime we have chatted to (a rather busy) Thys, our red winemaker about the harvest, this is what he had to say: 

“So far we received Pinotage, Merlot and Shiraz grapes. We are almost finished with the Pinotage and we’ll start on the Merlot shortly. The grapes are definitely coming in later than in 2009 because of the cool weather and today’s weather has made things challenging…. However, the quality of the Pinotage that has come in is amazing and from the Merlot grapes that we have seen, KWV Wines is expecting a good vintage from this year’s crop too