The end of the harvest 2009
30. November 2009 | 15:05
The best fruit ripen slowly - even in 1981, the first harvest under my supervision, I knew that later fruit are usually better. Still: every harvest, even every day during the harvest, is beset with doubts whether it
might not be better to bring in the precious grapes earlier.
After all, they represent not only a whole year of work, but also the preparatory labour in the vineyards and during the first four years of a vineyard's life before it
becomes productive.
Now, as the last grapes have been brought in, the feeling has changed. I even catch myself thinking that it is a pity not to have held out longer.
The last berries may well result in the best wines - or not, as the case may be. Fermentation always brings surprises: aromatic compounds, especially the
subtle aromatic precursors, which are already present in the berry, but are expressed only through fermentation and ageing the finished wine.
It is impossible to give a meaningful answer to the question: What will this year's wine be like? The only think I can say is that it will be good, and will need time to develop. The grapes are promising, but the special, unique character of the vintage is still unclear.
This year, right at the end of the harvest period, we once again harvested a tiny amount of Muskateller. In 2007 it was a late November harvest, 2008 even December, and this year once again exactly at the end of November. The first wine of 2009, our Grüner Veltliner L+T (leicht & trocken), will be ready in December: fresh, fruity, with clear varietal fruit, the first of a whole collection of wines, which will be filled by and by.
We produce at least two sorts of wine: everyday wines which can be harvested early, and which are pleasant, fresh and fruity, ideal for day to day consumption. The second goal is very different: to harvest wines which are as unique, as touching as a work of art -complicated, superfluous, and heart-rending. Making wine is a collective task: now the yeasts and other bacteria have taken over the work.
We are now celebrating the end of the harvest with a big dinner. I feel like making a vertical tasting of Rieslings and looking what beautiful things
time has given us.
