Contrary to our anticipations, harvest 2026 ended up commencing quite on par with last year’s timeline, even though we were expecting an earlier start due to the dry conditions the latter half of spring and throughout the summer. The cold winter in 2025 ensured proper rest for the vines, leading to a very generous fruit bearing year. It’s exciting to see such a large number of bunches on the vines and everything is looking very promising. 

We started off by picking one of our blocks of Pinotage first, the same block where the fruit ripens quite quickly and normally ends up signalling the start of the vintage. This was followed by some of our Old Vine Chenin Blanc making its way to the cellar, destined to become our super special The Clockmaker. 

It’s still early days, but the weather predictions show dry conditions for February. Luckily, we still have some water in our dams, but we realize that this is a resource we should respect and use responsibly. It may perhaps lead to a small inter-departmental water skirmish between the post-harvest irrigation undertaken by the vineyard team and the ongoing landscaping maintenance by the gardening team.

The final months of last year saw us uprooting several vineyard blocks, as they were no longer delivering good yields, and didn’t show any viable potential to retain them to become certified Old Vines. Once all the grapes have been brought to the cellar, we’ll nurture the wines through fermentation until they can be put to rest for their maturation. We’ll then start with our envisioned two-year plan to replant the cleared land with varietals and clones more conducive to our growing conditions and growing the production volumes of our portfolio.

If you’d like to get a little behind-the-scenes perspective of what Lauren, our cellar team and I get up to during harvest time, you can join one of our Diemersfontein Harvest Experience evenings. We started hosting these evenings two years ago, giving our guests a peek behind the curtain on the day-to-day operations of harvest. The entire experience is only R395 per person, with four dates available for you to choose from: the 7^th, 21^stand 28^th of February, as well as the 7^th of March. To ensure the safety of our guests and due to the capacity of the tractor, spaces are limited – avoid disappointment by securing your spot via the Diemersfontein Website E-Store before the evenings become fully booked.

We’ll start off your visit with a welcome drink on arrival, before taking a short tractor ride for a wine tasting among the vines. This is followed by visit to our cellar, giving you the rundown of how the grapes from our vineyards are transformed into the wines you love. The evening then concludes with a ‘long table-style’ two-course dinner at SMUL Restaurant.

So, I think that’s it for now… Be on the lookout for my next Harvest Report at the beginning of March. I’m looking forward to the remaining weeks of harvest 2026, and the chance to welcome you on one of our Harvest Experience evenings.