Opportunities for improved environmental sustainability of a wine producer in South Africa : natural resource management and climate change adaptation and mitigation

Abstract: South Africa has been among the top ten wine producing countries for at least 20 years. Even though the land under grapevines is decreasing globally it is still increasing in Africa. The awareness of environment has strengthen the last years and South African producers experience a high demand of environmentally friendly produced wine, especially from the European market. This demand was the driving force behind the development of the world unique sustainability certification, Integrated Production of Wine (IPW), which is inscribed in the South African legislation. What makes this certification unique is that consumers can trace their product all the way back to the farming practices owing to the identity number specified on the IPW Integrity & Sustainability seal on certified products. The guidelines are still quite vague and unclear. In this report, sustainable wine production in South Africa is studied. More specifically a case study of Kanonkop Wine Estate was performed which focuses on soil, water and climate. Kanonkop is a well renowned wine producer, situated in an area known as “the Red Wine District of South Africa” on the mountain foot with low but beneficial influence on the climate from Indian Ocean and the Atlantic sea. Both the cellar and farming activities are IPW certified. The results showed that erosion was a major threat to the sustainability, especially to the infrastructure. Erosion control measures have been implemented to a limited extent and with varying performances. As vineyards are the most exposed to erosion among all arable land types this was a more or less expected finding. By simulating the biophysical conditions in GIS the cause of erosion could be understood. Erosion can be controlled by implementing erosion control measures such as extending and improving mechanical constructions for controlling runoff, improving the establishment of cover crops and practicing soil management which prevents erosion. Very few products are more sensitive to climate change than wine. With changes in climate the Western Cape, South Africa’s main wine region, is expected to experience more drought and floods which further leads to increased risks of erosion. South Africa is approaching water scarcity but for Kanonkop there is no threat of water scarcity at present. The water demand is low due to low irrigation water requirement while the water access is significantly higher owing to the artificial dam on the estate. South Africa is making efforts to reduce its contribution to climate change. Vineyards are therefore likely to be obliged to perform Carbon Footprint audits in the future as the agricultural sector is a large contributor to climate change. The Carbon Footprint of the production on Kanonkop was determined in this report, aiming to define opportunities to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions. To improve the accuracy of the Carbon Footprint in the future improved recording is necessary. Electricity meters should be installed for the different parts of the production chain so that sources of high electricity use can be defined. Defined opportunities for climate change mitigation lies within electricity, where coal based electricity can be exchanged for renewable electricity sources.