The season began in early April. Fortunately, there was still enough water in the soil from last year, so the vines were able to grow without any stress. Thankfully, there were no problems with late frosts this year.

However, having plenty of water also meant very good growth in the undergrowth. We therefore invested heavily this year and purchased a new mulcher with rotating brushes, which we used to successfully clear the area beneath the vines. However, we did have to clear the grass from the clogged roller quite often. As our old narrow-track tractors for the old, narrowly planted vineyards are becoming increasingly prone to breakdowns, we have also purchased a new tractor.

Another major investment project this year was the construction of a water supply system for our vineyards in the Oberrotweiler Eichberg and Bischoffinger Steinbuck areas.

The first tests to see if the irrigation system worked were then carried out in August.

As it looked set to be a hot summer, we started spreading straw in our dry areas. At first we did it by hand, and later with a manure spreader, which, however, broke down and had to be emptied in an unconventional way…

The vines started flowering here at the end of May, which gave us a rough idea of when the grape harvest would begin.

This year we had our defoliator repaired. Depending on the tractor driver, it was handled with varying degrees of care. In the end, however, the drive shaft caught fire, so we weren’t able to defoliate everything with it.

We’ve had plenty of rain at just the right time this year. The grass beneath the vines grew constantly, and we even had to go out and cut the foliage three or four times… Of course, we use a modern leaf cutter for our vineyards. However, the vines covered with hail protection nets are pruned by hand, with a bit of unconventional help. We’ve posted a video about this on YouTube .

As we do every year, we place great importance on precise yield regulation. As there was always sufficient rainfall in July and August, the bunches were somewhat plump at the base, so it was necessary to thin them out considerably.

Just before the grape harvest, we had to tackle the undergrowth in the rows and beneath the vines once again…

At the end of August, we began the grape harvest and picked some lovely Pinot Noir grapes for the base wine for our sparkling wine.

As always, the autumn season doesn’t always go to plan, and technical glitches can crop up from time to time…

But in the end, it’s the result that counts…

After two weeks of the main harvest, the next heavy rain fell, followed by a few lovely dry days, and in golden October the time had come and we were able to harvest some wonderful Beerenauslese grapes.

However, the effort involved is immense. Before fermentation, these high-quality sweet musts must be filtered to clarity in order to remove all undesirable components.