Happy Harvest 2015

Ernteglueck

It was a beautiful Saturday in late September 2015, after a very long, sunny and hot summer. And it is a beautiful harvest: the vines were strong, the grapes ripe and abundant. And thanks to the summer heat, the Suzuki fruitfly lost its ability to reproduce. We were a cheerful lot doing the harvesting, shipping and catering, so it turned out to be a real harvest feast. As usual, I am happy to say.

The grapes were high on the Öchsle scale this year, so I have to watch the drying very carefully in order to get just the right concentration. It is all there in the fruit already, there is not much that I can add. I really look forward to working in the cellar, the foottrodding and pressing, the smelling, tasting and listening. It takes all five senses to know when to interfere and when to just let nature run its course. It’s a fine balance between controlling and letting go – just like in life.

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PRIZEWORTHY! The 2012 jeninser is awarded a silver medal by “decanter”

The 2012 jennies not only has a rich palate, but also “a lovely warm finish”, says “Decanter” wine magazine’s international panel of experts. That is worth a silver medal, the “Decanter World Wine Awards Silver Accolade”. A huge honor!

Read the panel’s tasting notes.

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The “Suzuki Harvest”

First, the rain hung much too low in the clouds throughout the summer. Next, East Asian fruit pests launched an air strike, and finally, a drone whizzed by just over our heads!

I know, some of you had holes in your stomach, others were unprepared for flying saucers, while yet others repeatedly went on a futile search for crates.

Against all odds and defying some faults in planning, we ended up harvesting exactly 840 crates or 2,149 kilos of grapes!

I was astonished to find that we had harvested about 500 kilos less than in the past year, while using almost twice the number of crates. The conclusion I draw from this: lots of stems and little fruit.

Now it’s up to my skill, experience and luck to make the best of it. It won’t be easy, but if you’re patient and come back for the harvest in 2016, you’ll get a taste.

Viva! Thanks, and all the best

Valentin

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In the vines

A lot of manual work and care goes into the vines. The shoots are selected by hand, broken out and looped into the support wires. Plant protection and summer pruning require a lot of precision and endurance. The vine and viticulture are comparable to top-class sport: every move is perfect, every intervention is precisely planned and budgeted, every shoot optimised. The vine, the soil and I deliver top performance. At the end, the grapes are carefully harvested by hand. Grape after grape is placed in the basket and dried.

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