A glorious autumn sun rules over the start of the 2005 harvest.

After a rainy summer, the wonderful September weather allowed the grapes to ripen fully.

This year, the stony terraces with their poor soils are showing the best conditions: the August rainfalls simply drained away.

2004 was a similar situation, but this year the grapes are already more mature, containing more sugar, less acidity, and showing wonderful aromas, probably better than 2003 and 2004.

The August rains have swelled the berries up to the limits of their flexibility. Sensible wine growers allow vegetation to develop between the rows of vines, in our case a mixture of false flax, white clover and red clover in order to draw the moisture out of the grapes.

Feeling this competition, the vine retrieves the water from the berries, thus preventing them from bursting.

In this constellation, the development of aromas can continue for several weeks longer.

The Start of Harvesting

The first charges to be harvested are always the grapes for our sekt base wine. 50% of the grapes are removed from the grapes – the ideal moment for sekt. The acidity is fresh, but no longer aggressive, the sugar content is ideal for a light, but not thin base wine. The remaining grapes are looking forward to a long autumn with sunny days, cold nights, rains and drying winds, all of which will contribute to forming the personality of the grapes and thus an unmistakable vintage character for our wines.

Our favourite varieties for the Bründlmayer Brut, which is now being harvested, are Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.

Why these varieties?

The sekt fermentation creates large amounts of natural fermentation carbonic acid in the wine, creating a fresh, slightly aggressive, mineral note. For wine lovers it is more pleasant to have this bracing freshness enveloped in a warmer, less aggressive base wine. This creates complexity and harmony out of the tension between different elements; it also makes the drinking experience more pleasant and guarantees nobody suffers from upset stomach the next day.