Only the best grapes produce excellent wines

Our quality claim

“Healthy, ripe grapes are the primary goal of our work – we tend our vines with great sensitivity.”

How good a wine becomes depends on what is in the grapes and how they are processed. The first prerequisite is that we do not produce too much, i.e. that the plants are not overloaded. For years, temperatures have been rising and rainfall falling. We have to adapt the performance of our vines to this, so we leave only one or max. two short canes when pruning in winter so that only a few fruit shoots grow.

In summer, we continue pruning and remove part of the developed grapes. The same happens with part of the foliage, because otherwise too much sugar would accumulate in the grape, which would later lead to high alcohol levels. This also gives us time to let all the components in the fruit mature (physiological ripeness). In autumn we can wait until the nights get cooler and a fine aroma develops in the berries. With some grape varieties it is important to ensure that the berries do not burn in the sun, but grow in the shade of the leaves. This also requires special foliage work in the summer.

This means a lot of manual work for our team and their helpers. In autumn, a precise harvest determines the quality of the later wine: the grapes should not be unripe, otherwise the wines will be bitter, but also not overripe, otherwise they lack tension. If they are differently developed, we harvest a parcel several times and always pick only the grapes that are perfect. Then they go into the cellar as quickly and as cool as possible and are processed there. Depending on the type of wine, they are sorted and then fermented in stainless steel, in large wooden barrels or on the skins. This is the most exciting time of the year!

Hier kan eine Bildunterschrift stehen

Dr. Heinrich Wirsching, im Gespräch mit Kellermeister Dr. Klaus-Peter Heigel

Hier kan eine Bildunterschrift stehen

Plant protection is essential in viticulture. However, one can ensure that the plants become more resistant and are not overloaded. The most important thing is to know your vines and develop a sense of what the vineyard needs. We combine methods from conventional and organic viticulture. We do this according to requirements and situation, but never ideologically. Each agent is individually tested for toxicity. We do not use glyphosate or copper. When we fertilise, we do not do so with industrially produced mineral fertiliser, but with natural products (compost, manure and organic fertiliser). In order to keep the soil fertile in the long term, we plant the vineyards with greenery and take care to compact them as little as possible, i.e. to drive only a little in the vineyard. We also do not use insecticides. Our aim is to produce small quantities of excellent grapes and not mass production.

Water will become an important issue for us in the next few years, because we are the driest region in Germany. However, the irrigation of vines takes place as drip irrigation and even that only for the young plants and the vineyards in the upper steep slope, which can only hold small humus layers due to erosion. These plants are supplied with about 10 litres of water per plant 2-3 times a summer. The aim is to prevent a stress or distress situation of the withering plants. They would otherwise produce distressed grapes that could not make good wine. The goal is not quantity. Basically, the vine should drive its roots deep and seek water. Only this gives sustainably good and mineral wines.