Production Cycle:

At Cape Vines your success is part of our game plan therefore our motto.

The production cycle is a meticulously structured process that ensures the cultivation of top-quality stock, progressing through various seasonal stages. Each phase encompasses specific tasks, from soil preparation and planting to nurturing and harvesting, guided by best practices and industry standards.

This overview provides insight into the critical steps and the precision required at every stage to deliver certified, premium-grade products.

March - April (Autumn)

Soil Preparation

  • Testing of soil for nematodes.
  • Soil preparation
  • Fertilization
  • Establishment of cover crops.
May / June

Rootstock Material Preparation

  • Collection/delivery from suppliers.
  • Cutting according to specifications.
  • Removal of buds.
  • Soaking (8 hours in clean water).
  • Disinfection (Captan 250 ml/100 l, or Rovral for early material, according to prescription).
  • Cool storage: Package and store at 2 - 4°C.
July / September

Preparation of Planting Material

  • Collection/delivery from suppliers.
  • Cutting according to specifications.
  • Removal of buds.
  • Soaking (8 hours in clean water).
  • Disinfection (Captan 250 ml/100 l, or Rovral for early material, as prescribed).
  • Cool storage: Package and store at 2 - 4°C.
June / September (Winter)

Rootstock Material Preparation

Grafting takes place strictly according to the grafting program.

  • Remove material from the cold room as needed, per grafting combination according to the grafting program.
  • Application of hormones (NAA 500 ml/20 l water, IBA 500 ml/20 l water), on the scion of the rootstock.
  • Grafting knives are continuously disinfected as per point 2e.
  • Tongue grafting is done by hand.
  • The graft union is clamped tightly.
  • Paraffin is applied from the top point to the bottom of the graft union with grafting wax.
  • Pack in callus boxes and cover with sawdust.
  • Submerge the box, approximately 500 grafted sticks per box, in a Brassicol solution (concentration as per recommendation).
  • Grafted sticks are stored in a moisture-controlled callus chamber at temperatures of approximately 13 - 18°C.
  • Once a combination is fully grafted, all waste material is removed from the grafting storage before starting the next combination.
  • Repeat points a - j for the next grafting combination.
  • Nursery report for control purposes is submitted to WVV.
Photo of a Cape Vines Wellington Grapevine
September / November (Spring)

Planting of Grafted Sticks After Callus Formation

  • Incorporation of cover crops into the soil.
  • Remove sticks from the callus chamber and transport to prepared soil.
  • Plant per graft combination in rows (50 x 850 mm), between 230,000 and 250,000 sticks are established per hectare.
  • Transitions between combinations in a planting row are maintained with a 1m space.
  • Each combination is marked with a board displaying the combination number at the beginning of the specific combination.
  • Sticks are buried up to approximately one bud above the soil.
  • The sticks are watered in the planting row.
  • Pre-emergence herbicide is applied in the planting row.
(Spring)

Spring Nursery Program

  • Ongoing weed control by hand.
  • Fungus control is applied weekly, a typical control program consists of Mikal-M or Mancozeb/Alliete, applied according to prescription.
  • Fertilization is applied based on needs as determined by leaf analysis.
  • Irrigation if necessary.
Photo of Rootstock field at Cape Vines Wellington
Photo of Rootstock field at Cape Vines Wellington
December / March (Summer)

Summer Nursery Program

  • Organic fertilization, 2x, typically enriched chicken manure is used.
  • Specific leaf feeding according to leaf analysis.
  • Inorganic fertilization with Nitro-S, 2x just before irrigation.
  • Sticks are opened up to the bottom of the graft union.
  • Weed control and irrigation are ongoing as needed.
  • Fungus control weekly or twice a week, depending on disease pressure, see 6 b.g. Removal of soft roots and rootstock green shoots by hand is continuously done.
  • The presence of nematodes is monitored by Nemlab and treated with Cropguard (organic) if necessary.
  • Tip actions as needed.
  • Preliminary vat percentages are estimated for marketing purposes.
  • Nursery inspections are conducted by WVV inspectors, covering aspects such as variety authenticity, cleanliness of the nursery, disease control, quantity control, presence of whitefly and ants, etc.
April / May (Autumn)

Autumn Program

  • The summer program is repeated with respect to points 7 e – h.
  • Autumn inspection by WVV inspectors for, among other things, leaf roll virus, as well as the other criteria mentioned in 7 k.
Photo of the view from the front of Cape Vines Wellington location
Photo of the Cape Vines Wellington team hard at work during production cycle
June

Removal of Sticks

  • Physical removal of sticks.
  • Classification of sticks and graft unions according to established standards regarding root development, shoot growth, and complete callus formation of the graft union.
  • Sticks are then bundled in groups of 50, labelled, and stored by combination.
  • Winter inspection of physical standards as well as the number of sticks per bush is conducted by WVV inspectors.

After this, certification is issued.

  • Delivery to clients follows. If requested by clients, cool storage (harvested, disinfected, and stored at 2 – 4°C) and/or hot water treatment (soaking sticks in water at 50°C for 30 minutes) is applied.