THE country’s wine crop is expected to dip 5,4% this year due to fires and unusually hot weather, but the percentage of sought-after reds is expected to increase, industry officials said on Monday. Yvette van der Merwe of the South African Wine Industry Information and Systems said she expects an 8,5% increase in the red grape crop, based on figures given by farmers switching away from whites to reds. Fires in January were the worst to hit the Western Cape, the main wine-producing region, in 50 years, and destroyed many vineyards.