Working in the vineyards and in the cellar

The process starting from the vines growing and grapes ripening in the vineyards to a full wine is a very long way. Therefore a modern wine farmer has in principle three jobs:
He is a wine grower, cellar master and lastly a businessman. On our farms we are lucky to have the experience of seven generations before us. In the end it boils down to being in tune with nature, being industrious and conscientious and having an extensive knowledge as a cellar master. That is the magic ingredients to cultivate good wine.

Working in the vineyards throughout the year.

In spring when there is no threat of frost anymore, we cut the vine shoots back one or two knots. The twigs are then compressed by machines to saw dust and ploughed back into the soil. That gives the soil some much needed nourishment.

Before the vines start to shoot, the twigs are bent and bound in an upside U Form so that all the nourishment is equally divided.

The soil is ploughed while between the vines other plants are planted. We cannot do without pesticides, but we use it sparsely. On our wine estate the rule of thumb is: as little as possible, but as much as needed. Our sole purpose is to protect the vines against damage from insects and fungae.

In summer selection is an important job. Some twigs are removed from the vines, to later give the remaining twigs and their grapes a better chance. We regularly return to bind the twigs and cut away what is not needed. Sometimes we also remove vine leaves to give the grapes more freedom to develop.

Autumn is our harvesting time. Normally we start at the end of September by selecting by hand. If the weather plays along, the harvest proceeds quite slowly to give us time to individually decide on the sugar level in the grapes. Especially towards the end of the ripening phase, a few days of sunshine can work wonders and improve the quality. The sugar quality is measured in Oechsle, which measures the alcohol content of the wine according to its specific gravity. If all goes well the harvest ends in mid November.

And this is how the wine is made in the cellars

The moment the harvest is over and winter starts the vintner turns into a sommelier. Then it is my job to get the best possible wine out of these grapes. The grapes are gently pressed.

The so-called must is then filled into stainless steel tanks and the fermentation process starts. It is helped along by yeast which is naturally contained in the grape juice. If the natural yeast is not enough the sommelier is allowed to use extra yeast to speed up the process.

The more fruit and grape sugar is transformed by the yeast into alcohol, the more alcohol a wine contains and the drier it gets. If we interrupt the fermentations process earlier, the result is a semi-sweet or sweet wine with more or less a high level of sugar remaining.

After some time which is determined by the sommelier based on his experience, the wines are filtered so that the yeast cannot continue to ferment uncontrolled. Now, the wine is ready to bottle. At the end of March or the beginning of April we bottle the new wines.