KWV 2026 vintage among earliest on record
The 2026 harvest has concluded, allowing the team at KWV to reflect on a vintage defined by extremes: from a dry winter and persistent winds to high humidity and a late-season heatwave that placed sustained pressure on both vineyards and teams.
According to KWV Chief Viticulturist Marco Ventrella, the season was as demanding as it was unpredictable. A defining character of this vintage was its accelerated pace, with earlier ripening, a compressed picking window and one of the earliest harvest finishes in recent KWV memory. Harvest began on 7 January 2026 with Chardonnay from Wellington for Cap Classique – eight days earlier than the previous year. White varieties were completed by 27 February, the earliest in team memory, and the final grapes were harvested on 20 March 2026, with KWV concluding the season a full 10 days earlier than the previous year.
A dry start and relentless wind
Winter 2025 delivered significantly below-average rainfall, with some regions, including the Swartland, recording up to 30% less rain than long-term norms – in some cases even lower than drought years. Despite this, sufficient winter chilling supported an even, albeit early, bud break.
Spring followed suit with mild conditions and early flowering, but was accompanied by sustained strong winds that created challenging conditions during key growth stages.
“The wind was a defining feature,” says Ventrella. “It placed both the vines and the team under sustained pressure, particularly through bud break and flowering.”
A compressed, fast-moving harvest
The growing season remained relatively mild, with warmer-than-average conditions but notably few extreme temperature spikes – at least initially. These stable conditions supported even ripening, resulting in a short and uniform veraison period.
Harvest began early, with Chardonnay for Cap Classique picked in Wellington on 7 January 2026: “At that stage, everything was running smoothly,” says Ventrella, who describes this period as the most laid-back of the 2026 vintage: “The early white wines came in with excellent analysis – bright, balanced and full of fruit.”
However, February introduced increased humidity and heat, alongside constant uncertainty around potential rainfall.
“We were working under a near-constant threat of rain that never quite materialised,” he explains. “It certainly challenged our models for reality: during that period grape analyses (sample and load analyses) presented like those typically experienced during periods of rain – with no rain!”
Heat, pressure and resilience
The harvest of white varieties concluded on 27 February. Relief came in the form of early March rains, briefly easing pressure on the system.
This was followed by an intense heatwave between 9 and 14 March, with temperatures exceeding 40°C.
“Everything ripened at once,” says Ventrella. “It was surreal, no-one had experienced anything like it before. Growers and cellar teams were pushed right to the edge.”
Despite the pressure, the team maintained momentum, completing harvest on 20 March 2026: “It was a reminder of what can be achieved – and overcome – through teamwork and South African resilience,” he adds.
What of the wines? “It’s early days but the whites are pristine with bright acidity and tension. The reds are bold, concentrated and generous with fruit forward flavour and dark colour,” concludes Ventrella.
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