TGC Seasonal Update | Week 48 | 2021

We have made a 1min short-film to give you a beter understanding of our production regions within South Africa and also where they are situated. Follow the link to view and comment on what else you would like to see.

TGC Production regions video

Orange River region:

With the winter season making a slower than usual shift towards summer we are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to move into full production. The overall cooler weather conditions throughout November were exceptional for the quality of the fruit, however it also delayed the season with roughly 10 days. Over the past few days temperatures started to pick up and we will see the same with the sugar brix level of the fruit and plan to be in full production week 49.

The harvest on Prime in the Orange River commenced week 47, however in such a small volume that we struggled to even fill containers.

With the ideal cooler weather, growers focused on creating perfect bunch structures. This included smaller bunches to allow for good berry size, more even sugar development, firmer berries and also longer shelf-life.

Orange River variety groups:

The green seedless varieties kicking off the season will be Prime followed by Early Sweet. Red seedless varieties include Arra29 (Passion Fire™) and Starlight which will be harvested in week 48. Black seedless varieties are also delayed with harvest and only to commence week 49, moving into full production week 50...that's roughly 10 to 12 days later compared to previous years. The two main Black varieties in the early region being Sable Seedless® and Midnight Beauty®.

Western Cape regions:

The cooler spring conditions had its challenges in set phase, the upside being that it also contributed to excellent berry size. We're roughly 7 to 8 weeks from harvest and the production units are applying crop load practices by manipulating bunches by hand. This method of manual labour is an expensive part of grape farming, however one of the only ways to properly prepare the perfect bunch for the end consumer. Most of the varieties showed above normal bunch and berry size due to the late colder winter. This made bunch selection easier and we removed additional bunches to ensure only the selected few will be of export quality.

Please reach out to us if you require any specific information or additional photos!