SA wine production declines steeply — but global wine consumption is steady
Paris — SA is set for a steep decline in wine production in 2018 as the country grapples with a water crisis ravaging Cape Town and surrounding areas, a Paris-based global organisation said Tuesday. Africa’s top wine producer is set to produce 8.6-million hectolitres of wine this year, down 20.4% down from 2017, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said in a statement. A hectolitre represents 100 litres, or the equivalent of just more than 133 standard 750 ml wine bottles. The Western Cape region has gone without significant rains for more than three years, forcing Cape Town to slash residential water consumption. While cautiously welcoming the water shortage’s impact on improved grape flavours, South African winemakers have been struggling with the drought, which has sown panic across the Cape Town area. Southern hemisphere More broadly, overall production in the southern hemisphere is set to remain stable at about 52-million hectolitres — only a marginal change fr...
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