Between tricky and delicious

Timing is everything. Especially in the vineyard, where just a few days can decide whether the harvested grapes have the ideal ripeness or were picked too early or too late. The 2024 vintage demanded a lot from us in this respect. The weather was not always our ally, especially on the Saar and Ruwer. The fact that it was nevertheless a vintage that was convincing across the board and had individual highlights is thanks to our hard-working helpers, who were always on hand in the vineyard when needed.

But first things first: 

The wet, mild winter and the warmest March ever favored early budding in April. Unfortunately, this came far too early on the Saar. Two nights of frost on April 22 and 23 destroyed all the young shoots in the legendary Scharzhofberg. Countless buds were also hit on the Ruwer and in the Avelsbach. As a result, we were only able to harvest a third of the usual amount of grapes in our vineyards in 2024. The harvest began on September 18 with the Frühburgunder and ended with the last Riesling berries on October 24. 

Such severe frost events as in 2024 naturally lead primarily to yield losses - very unfortunate, but we are used to more or less strong yield fluctuations in viticulture. A much greater difficulty is posed by the subsequent problems in the further course of vegetation, and these then also put us under great strain until the grape harvest. The delay caused by the loss of the frozen eyes, the low fruitfulness of the buds that sprouted after the frost and the inhomogeneity in the ripeness of the individual grapes caused many a bead of sweat on our foreheads. 

Flexibility and high speed were therefore the order of the day in some plots. The rainy September meant that rot set in abruptly in some places. The motto there was: “Harvest immediately!” Better a perfectly healthy Kabinett than a late harvest with an aftertaste! 

The clear must in the cellar proves us right. The dry and off-dry local wines are above average and arouse just as much anticipation as the fruity Kabinett wines. Individual sites and villages stand out. In Graach, Dhron, Bernkastel and Trittenheim we were able to harvest wonderfully ripe berries. On the Saar, the Kanzemer Altenberg and the Ayler Kupp stand out. And even on the frost-plagued Ruwer, the fine, tart local wines from Kasel reconciled us to the capricious weather. 

In the end, it turned out to be a vintage that not only Riesling fans will enjoy. Admittedly, it was more difficult and stressful than usual. But anyone who is committed to viticulture knows that it is a worthwhile effort. Because as we taste the still very young wines, we have an inkling: There are some supposedly inconspicuous wines that will be our favorites in a few years' time.