24.09.2012
From vineyard to cellar
From vineyard to cellar
In some parts of Germany the harvest has started. We need more time.
The harvest is on. Vintage 2012. Internet is full of pictures of grapes and busy pickers. Here in Germany, in some parts of the country, the harvest has started. The early ripening varieties are being picked. Frühburgunder, Müller-Thurgau, some new crossings, and yesterday, I heard that the first Silvaner grapes were being pre-harvested in Rheinhessen. In the Rheingau, we need a bit more time. Riesling is still quite a way from beng ripe. Here and there, there are some must weight readings of ca. 75 degress Oechsle – theoretically, that would qualify for Kabinett – but the acidity is still far too high, the grapes are far too hard, and they lack taste. The rain last week considerably curbed matters. A situation that I’m not really unhappy about. Since my last prognosis – harvest start on 4 October – I've moved it up to 24 September. In any case, that’s when we’ll begin to pick a little. Some of the Pinot grapes we’ll use as base wines for Sekt (sparkling wine), the small amount of Portugieser we have, and toward the end of the week, perhaps also some Riesling for Sekt. We’ll see...
In any case, our harvest team will be fully manned as of 24 September. Better safe than sorry, and there’s still plenty to be done in the vineyards before the main harvest begins. All underdeveloped grapes must go, and some foliage, too. Fortunately, it seems that the weather gods still have mercy on us. There’s no real problematic weather in sight.
Best regards,
Dirk Würtz, estate manager
In some parts of Germany the harvest has started. We need more time.
The harvest is on. Vintage 2012. Internet is full of pictures of grapes and busy pickers. Here in Germany, in some parts of the country, the harvest has started. The early ripening varieties are being picked. Frühburgunder, Müller-Thurgau, some new crossings, and yesterday, I heard that the first Silvaner grapes were being pre-harvested in Rheinhessen. In the Rheingau, we need a bit more time. Riesling is still quite a way from beng ripe. Here and there, there are some must weight readings of ca. 75 degress Oechsle – theoretically, that would qualify for Kabinett – but the acidity is still far too high, the grapes are far too hard, and they lack taste. The rain last week considerably curbed matters. A situation that I’m not really unhappy about. Since my last prognosis – harvest start on 4 October – I've moved it up to 24 September. In any case, that’s when we’ll begin to pick a little. Some of the Pinot grapes we’ll use as base wines for Sekt (sparkling wine), the small amount of Portugieser we have, and toward the end of the week, perhaps also some Riesling for Sekt. We’ll see...
In any case, our harvest team will be fully manned as of 24 September. Better safe than sorry, and there’s still plenty to be done in the vineyards before the main harvest begins. All underdeveloped grapes must go, and some foliage, too. Fortunately, it seems that the weather gods still have mercy on us. There’s no real problematic weather in sight.
Best regards,
Dirk Würtz, estate manager
