Working in the vineyards demands a lot of perseverance. In January, when the vines are being trained, the workers are already familiar with the frosty temperatures.
But only a few days ago, in the middle of October, the thermometers were still showing almost 30°C and now they are at 4°C with strong winds making the cold feel even more arctic.
Our harvest team is battling on regardless, and our thanks go out to them. Thanks also to the inventor of hot tea, the best medicine against the cold northerlies!
Despite the storms and cold our harvesters are working meticulously to eliminate all unhealthy material from the grapes and are working steadily. This is the only way to make high quality wines out of Zweigelt and St. Laurent, which are being harvested at the moment. Apart from structure we are always aiming at utmost aromatic purity.
While the temperatures have dropped almost to 0° overnight the barometer of our mood has risen. The Veltliner and Riesling grapes are now much more aromatic then before the sudden cold, proving the adage that especially Veltliner must have “experienced something in the vineyard in order to have a tale to tell in the glass.”
The strong winds have caused great quantitative losses among the Riesling grapes, many berries have dropped to the ground. That hurts, but it concerns mainly the grapes with weak stems, which are often of inferior quality. Fortunately, the berries remaining on the vines are the better ones.
While we have already harvested the Pinot Noir from Käferberg and Holzweg, our Dechant vineyard will be the last of red wine to be harvested. This means that we will have a range of aromatic expressions in our red burgundian wines. |
