In August 2014 whilst staying at the Grande Roche hotel in Paarl, judging the wine selections for South African Airways, one afternoon after the tasting I went for a run in the vineyards above my room adjacent to the conference center and there I found freshly prunes Shiraz / Syrah on the ground.
I gather enough cuttings which I brought back to Johannesburg, 46 in total and prepare them for planting last spring, by dipping the tip in rooting hormone as shown in the picture.
I was curious to see if any will root.
A year later, 7 survived the dry and cold Gauteng winter, budding late september and are growing well, will have a separate post on their progress.
Since it is well documented that phylloxera does not live at altitude of over a 1000's above sea level, Joburg averages 1300 ASL, will be interesting to see the fruit in 2018!
More to follow, who knows?
