Of warm feet and grape gold: Weinlese 2022
The investment in waterproof professional shoe plant was worth it. From the early hours of the morning - at an outside temperature of 8 degrees - to the first rays of sunshine in the afternoon: warm feet. A completely new experience after my first wine harvest in 2021 in the St. Maximiner Kreuzberg in Trier at that time with sneakers. Was I really well positioned this year?
To anticipate it: Yes, in 2022, a lot worked out from the first cut in January to the reading in September, for the good of our grapes, incidentally regardless of the footwear used. The temptation has never been so great to bite the golden yellow grapes while reading in the steeplace. And how cool it tastes! Have you ever done that? Cut down directly from the vine, a good handful - grapes flashing in sunlight - just bite? Ohh, how delicious fruity and sweet the grape juice tastes on my tongue. Now only continue concentrated and straighten the glasses (now slightly glued by the sugar) again on the nose, because the grapes belong to the red laid. Later in the Kelter there is the first result in Oechsle and vitar acid to work in the vineyard.
In the second year: break new ground
A year in the steeplace is behind our team of two (= Joachim Molz / Thomas Vatheuer), the day of the decision ahead of us. What did the premiere brought with the gentle vine cut? Have the line railways inside the wood remained curable? After all, we previously acquired the necessary knowledge for the Simonit & Sirch method through the specialist book by Marco Simonit and a practical course in Luxembourg. But did we actually follow the "juice flow" inside the vine through the corresponding left-right distribution of a fruit rod? Has the respect wood been properly selected? And then the second premiere: Did the first use of a flight drone to fit for crop protection with our partner of Plantivo directly in the spring? The many watering cans from our pond helped the young vines in summer? Was the flipping of the grape zone correct in the violent rainfall in early September? And finally: do we get the right dose of sunshine from the reading now? Pure thrill! A look at the weather app in the morning, at noon and in the evening. Two weeks ago, without promising good views, except for rain shower! Now after early fog, the warming sun rays come and slowly dissolve the cloud cover.
Reading day - now it's getting serious for the team!
Then comes the day of the decision and the answer to the many questions: Thursday, September 29, 8:00 a.m., start date for our reading in St. Maximiner Kreuzberg directly on the Bethanien monastery. This time not 100 % waterproof with professional wineyers. Here is the outstanding answer: Yes, in the truest sense of the word we harvested a lot of "grape gold" from the vines. Our grapes said "thanks" for our often sweaty work in the vineyard. What is already confirmed in the grapes during the reading is confirmed in the wine press house: 83 degrees Oechsle at 9.5 per thousand acid. A great aroma on the tongue with the first trial sanctuary directly from the grape food.
We're done! In our vineyard, in the second year of the changeover to ecological viticulture, as well as with the help of nature and a lot of manual work, we achieved a tasty result. What a delicious grape must drips out of the wine press! I would like to put a bottle of it under my pillow today or better put it in the fridge. But now the yeasts in the always fully tank made of stainless steel as a hardworking "helper" during the spontaneous fermentation have the say: they give the sound in the fermentation tube. We are already certain: the 2022 will give us a lot of fun. "Blubb, Blubb, Blubb ..."