Harvest report 2008

After all the bleak reports about the current financial debacle, here's a bit of positive news from the wine industry. The year 2008 began on a very positive note: early blossoming and the early onset of ripening bode well for a lengthy growing season for grapes - the preliminary outlook seemed as good as in 2007. Summer weather, with ample rain and lots of sunshine, was also just right for Riesling. It wasn't until autumn that the weather turned problematic: September was far too cold, and October was anything but "golden." Rain set in and resulted in rot, thereby making a considerable amount of manual selection necessary. Yet initial anxiety that there might be a repeat of the difficult harvest conditions of 2006 - no one has forgotten - quickly gave way to great optimism when the grapes were actually processed: musts were very clean and had beautiful fruit aromas. In the words of our cellar master, Thomas Doll: "We've had nothing but fully ripened Riesling wines with a pronounced fruitiness and wonderful play of acidity."

A Trockenbeerenauslese from "Rüdesheimer Berg" and Hattenheim added the crowning touch to the harvest that has just ended. All in all, we were able to harvest more than 300,000 liters this year - an above-average quantity of very fine quality. The rest remains to be seen in spring, when the wines have been bottled and are ready to make their debut. On 30 October 2008, as our harvest was nearing an end, a local TV station filmed a reportage at our estate for the news program "Hessenschau." You can view it here on our website: It not only follows the grapes on their journey from vineyard to cellar, but also shows the work required to selectively harvest individual berries.