It’s hard to believe (at least for us) but this year we got our 10th vintage in, 2013 was the first one. Back in the days we always struggled to answer the question how long our wines could be stored. Having opened a bottle of each 2013 cuvée this year we can confidently say: most of them for 10+ years easily. We just finished a bottle of the first Große Wanderlust last night and it was still singing and shining.
The 2022 season came with another drought. In April we planted the next vineyard, another field blend of hybrids (Souvignier Gris, Sauvignac, Calardis Blanc, Blütenmuskateller and Donauriesling). There was a bit of rain after planting but that was it until the end of August.
On the upside there was no frost damage this year and dry and hot means bad conditions for downey mildew, which had ruined a good part of the previous vintage. With 200g of copper per hectare we went as low as we never dared to in the past. Maybe the teas we produced and sprayed this year might even have been enough.
As the temperatures were passing the 35°C mark the Bacchus of course took a decent sun burn damage but the yield was promising and there were still quite a few good bunches remaining. And just before we started picking there was a good splash of rain filling the grapes with more juice and with day X looming the vineyards looked fantastic.
What a joy it was picking this year. Everything was healthy, we had a fabulous crew and all grapes went in just at the right time. Perfectly ripe Pinots, wonderfully aromatic Silvaner and – certainly a highlight – the first serious yield from the traditional field blend planted back in 2019.
The juice from most of the vineyards fermented beautifully. 2022 won’t go down in history as the one with he highest acid but the first finished wines show an impressive minerality, density and grip. It’s a very promising vintage.
We wish you all a relaxed end of the year. Thank you so much for your support – we’ll see you around!