The objective of the project is to plant and harvest vines with the intention of producing some or all of the following i.e. wine, brandy, juice and the production of table grapes.
Villard Blanc has been identified as a grape cultivar that is ideal for the coastline of KwaZulu-Natal as it is resistant to humidity. Attributes of this cultivar are as follows:
(Note that these attributes are from practical experience with Villard blancBlanc vineyards planted in the Western and Northern Cape provinces).
- It is highly fertile (can produce large crops).
- Natural vigorous growth (requires relatively low fertilizer application, if any)
- It can be cultivated on own roots, but the best performance has been noted with grafted vines. The rootstock 101-14 Mgt is recommended.
- Fairly disease resistant, especially with regards to Downy Mildew (it is susceptible to powdery mildew) – thus crop protection will be necessary.
- Suitable for winemaking as well as distilling purposes, there are however certain challenges according to literature.
The iLembe Vineyards project is an agro processing business with an Agri tourism component. It takes 3 years for vineyards to be planted before they can be harvested. The ultimate goal of the project is to capitalise on the catalytic effect of a vineyard,andvineyard, and the ability to create economically viable projects and industries supporting and surrounding the vinyards.