Wine Diary
After the rain - Summer is back!
So far, we Kamptal growers are not complaining about the course of 2023! Following a cool and dry first quarter, April brought the long sought-after rain. Budding and flowering were a bit delayed, exactly what we had hoped for, considering the effects of climate change and an eventual risk of late frost. The water supply was ok until a hot and dry July, when the Danube/Kamp area was longing for more rain, having luckily been spared the heavy hail storms and floods in the southern parts of Austria. Last weekend then brought the relieving soft and steady rainfalls also marking the end of a cool two-week period. Now summer is back and will accelerate ripeness. In the warmer sites, red grapes are already changing colour. So, we await the start of harvest around the second week of September.
Our team has again accomplished much green work. Lately we had to thin out late (developing) thrives, to mulch the ground and to weed the soil around the stems. Our young Langenlois vineyards on Rosenhügel (Grüner Veltliner), Weinträgerin (Zweigelt) and Steinberg (Chardonnay) are also in perfect condition. They need special care and have been hewn (weeded) by hand in order to not harm the young stems and roots.
In the cellar we are preparing for harvest. All presses, conveyors, pipes and wirings, vineyard trolleys and cases etc. have undergone technical inspection.
Meanwhile our first “Erste Lagen” wines of vintage 2022 have been bottled and will be presented at the Erste Lagen Tasting at Schloss Grafenegg in September.
Now we are looking forward to some calm summer days!