July started as June had ended. Sunny and dry. Which totally has its upsides considering the downey mildew hell from last year. The dry conditions offer several other advantages too. If there is no grass growing there is no grass to cut, if the vines grow slower it’s much less work to organize the shoots and last but not least:… Read more →
The beginning of June is probably the nicest time of the year in the vineyards. The vineyards are covered with flowers and grapes start growing. And finally, the garden vineyard will – fingers crossed – produce a first serious vintage. Accompanied by thyme, lavender, chives and calendula the 20-ish co-planted varieties just had enough grapes to fill one barrique last… Read more →
Vegetation season is in full swing. Joyfully and carefully we select the shoots growing out of spurs, canes and sometimes the trunk to balance each plant’s yield and maintain or even improve the vine’s architecture. The speed of growth has been impressive the last few weeks with summery temperatures almost every day. And the best thing is: no frost this… Read more →
With my parents retiring at the end of 2019 the following year 2020 was a challenging start with a late spring frost destroying the majority of our grapes and the pandemic impacting life, work and business. So 2021 was supposed to be a year of stabilizing all those aspects – what of course did not work out at all. All… Read more →
Over the last years we started getting used to picking earlier and earlier each year. Summer vacations had almost become impossible. So it was hard to believe that this year we’d be back to a schedule that would have been normal when I was a child. In the beginning of September we were all good to go, everything was clean,… Read more →
About seven years ago, when we just had released our first vintage, chef Benedikt Hammerl just had started introducing the new nordic cuisine to Würzburg. And started getting into natural wine which naturally put him in touch with us. Over the years we developed a prolific friendship with me pouring wine for special dinners at his restaurant, the MS Zufriedenheit,… Read more →
The upside to the last years droughts was that we didn’t really have to spray a lot. The spores of downey mildew need rain at first to be catapulted up to the leaves and once they’ve arrived humid conditions to keep spawning. Which they had this year. June was already showing some serious infections on the leaves and as it… Read more →
About seven years ago, when we just had released our first vintage, chef Benedikt Hammerl just had started introducing the new nordic cuisine to Würzburg. And started getting into natural wine which naturally put him in touch with us. Over the years we developed a prolific friendship with me pouring wine for special dinners at his restaurant, the MS Zufriedenheit,… Read more →
In the beginning of May we tend to be ready to go for green pruning. Antonia, Anja, Nina and Sam had arrived in time to get started, no more frost was in sight but – there were simply no shoots to remove. The unusually cold April kept the buds closed and with just a glimpse of green here and there… Read more →
It’s been a slow start in the vineyards. The slowest we’ve experienced since we came back to Kitzingen. The first buds were breaking towards the end of the month, about three weeks later than last year. Days are still chilly, nights are still cold and we keep lacking rain. Nonetheless cherry, plum and apple trees cover the scenery with their… Read more →
