The story
On our beloved Eselsberg, the hill where the Heimat Silvaner and the Fledermaus grow on, there is a big plot (almost one hectare) with two thirds Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) and one third Riesling growing on it. The blend is dedicated to the “Weinschwärmer” (Deilephila porcellus), a beautifully coloured moth who lives in our area. Not only does that moth carry the word “wine” in its name but it’s also a delicacy for our local bats.
How we made it
The disastrous frost event hit both vineyards with full force in May 2020. There was nothing left. But a few weeks after the loss several secondary buds broke, shoots grew again and some actually had grapes on them. It was a very late pick but the grapes of both vineyards got ripe in the end (although not as super-ripe as the previous year), weeks after the first generation would have. And it was enough grapes to vinify them by themselves: The about 15hl/ha we got in the end was more than it looked like in spring.
Again the Grauburgunder was destemmed and stayed on the skins until fermentation temperature peaked, the Riesling pressed directly. After fermenting and aging in barrels both batches were blended the summer after to spend more time in a tank before being bottled in March 2022.
Fact sheet
Varieties: 75% Grauburgunder, 25% Riesling
Location: Kitzingen
Soil: Shell limestone
Harvest: October 2020
Grauburgunder grapes destemmed & fermented on the skins for a week, Riesling directly pressed; Aged in old oak
Bottled: March 2022
Alcohol: 11.5 %
Acid: 5.8 g/l
Residual sugar: 0 g/l
Total SO2 (nothing added): 4 mg/l
Bottle size: 0.75 l