Industry veteren Gyles Webb speaks about Thelema’s worst fire to date

An excerpt from a newsletter on the website of Thelema Mountain Vineyards, one of South Africa’s top wine farms on the Simonsberg mountain in Stellenbosch:

“Fire is an obvious risk in our location and we try to prepare for this by sending our staff on fire-fighting courses, establishing fire breaks and getting water and fire hoses to the areas directly above the vineyards. The problem is that these fires don’t play by our rules. This year was especially hot and dry, converting the fynbos into a virtual powder keg. The fire, fanned by favourable winds, raced across the mountain and made all our fire breaks and plans look silly. Sparks flew like mortars, setting off new fires 50 to 60 metres away, and our attention shifted from looking after the vineyards to looking after ourselves. It is a genuinely frightening experience to be close to one of these events; the heat is unbearable but the worst is the smoke – first of all you can’t see and then you can’t breathe” – Gyles WebbThelema fire - vintage2016

2016 was “A Vintage To Remember”, says the Thelema proprietor after having lost some vineyards and his favourite tree… To read the complete article, click here.

 

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