Despite an acreage decline in 2025 to 85,544 hectares, South Africa expects uptick production of wine grapes in 2026.
Industry body, South Africa Wine says it is approaching the coming harvest with “cautious optimism,”per a Sunday World report of December 17, 2025.
The association cited private cellar-crop growers’ optimism on the likelihood of a marginally higher harvest than 2025’s.
This echoes positive estimates by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of modest progress next season.
The USDA had earlier forecast 2025 wine output from grapes to rise 3% above 2024’s 750 million liters.
If the newest projections actualize, the upcoming harvest will enable a wine processing capacity rivaling the notable 934 million liters of 2023.
Weather Generally Amicable
Unlike 2024 when frost and flooding did some damage, the maturing 2026 crop budded this spring without adverse weather effects.
Spring was particularly conducive because early warmth accelerated budding by around 10 days versus the previous season.
Amid the modest warmth, flowering and bunch formation improved in many varieties, one of which being Chenin Blanc.
Viticulture experts however expect late scarlet cultivars such as Ruby Cabernet to loosen because wind and warmth coincided with their main growth periods.
In regional terms, the cultivation center of Western Cape experienced ample rainfall in the foregoing southern hemisphere winter.
Cape Town’s vineyards however are having only minimal summer saturation currently, but irrigation dams hold ample supplies.
Luckier still are the northern wine regions, which are currently experiencing decent summer rains that will speed up fruit development.
Overall, the 2026 crop of grapes that make lucrative wine in South Africa inherited disease-free trees from the foregoing harvest. In combination with the current favorable weather conditions, the fruits look into staying healthy right to the ripening period. To learn more on how these vineyards fit into the local wine industry, peruse the below stats.
South Africa Wine Grapes Statistics
With its rich wine grape fields in Western Cape and the northern regions, South Africa variously ranks 7th or 10th in global wine production. In 2023, wine output hit 930,000 kilo liters, courtesy ample harvest of cellar grapes. Fruits that undergo wine distilling make up 50% of all grapes in SA. In 2021 the country crushed 1,113,300 kiloliters of the alcoholic drink from half the total grape harvest at 2,000,297 tonnes, per the FAOSTAT.
The below table interprets the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s data on wine grape production in South Africa:
| Year | Harvest |
| 2023 | < 1.2 million tonnes |
| 2022 | < 1.5 million tonnes |
| 2021 | > 1.4 million tonnes |
| 2014 | >1.5 million tonnes |
| 2012 | >1.4 million tonnes |
Which wine grapes lead acreage in SA?
South Africa is a net producer of white wine grapes and a little of red wine types. In 2023, white wine cultivar Chenin Blanc represented 18.4% of all acreage, according to the Wines of South Africa (WOSA). Sauvignon blanc (white) followed with 11.4%, while Colombard (also white) rounded the top 3 with 10.4% area share.
Which areas grow the most wine grapes?
The following Western Cape and northlands areas account for the most wine grape production and acreage in SA: Paarl (over 14,000 hectares), Robertson, Breedekloof, Swartland and Stellenbosch.