Wine Diary
First steps towards vintage 2020
Pruning basically prepares our vines for carrying the future vintage. We take care to make as few and small cuts as possible, while respecting the existing vascular systems of the plant. Healthy and vital wood remains to store reserves for tougher times. The vine is made more resistant to stress and illness thus also keeping up with the many and varied challenges throughout the year: green cover between the rows might be competitive, the varied weather conditions, and attacks of diverse insects and funghi. In the course of the year we are counting on a kind of “hormesis” effect. Various minor stress impulses like drought or cold that have been managed without damage will lead to increased resistance and help to stock up valuable life prolonging substances, such as resveratrol.
We observe a special accumulation in connection with stress impulses, for instance, on sites where a varietal just made it to ripeness, where the vines did not have an easy living. As a consequence, we expect more resveratrol and more exquisite ingredients from cooler hillsides and stony soils than from all too fertile grounds. The vines will collect valuable ingredients while “standing their ground” by their own force. At the end of the year they will offer those substances to us, in form of a fine glass of wine.