Weingut Bründlmayer

Moody April and the fine 2022s!

The ‘moody April’ more than lived up to its name in 2024: after an extremely warm first half with summery temperatures in places, the weather turned and a cool northerly current made for almost wintry days and nights (see daily averages). On April 19th and again on the 26th, temperatures in some vineyards, e.g. in Kammern in the east of Langenlois, were well below zero for several hours at night. The frost hit the lower part of our Kammerner Lamm in particular, but spared vineyards in the south and west of Langenlois, which one would otherwise tend to worry about in such situations. It is still too early to quantify the extent of the limited damage. We know of legendary wines from some frost years (such as 1986), albeit always in very limited quantities.

Winegrowers have lived with the whims of nature for centuries and, like some vines, have acquired a certain ‘resilience’. Equanimity and confidence are among the qualities that should not be lacking in a life of viticulture and which are almost always justified: The vine can activate reserve buds (basal eyes), a late rebudding with very little grape set in each case could still produce good fruit. More accurate weather forecasts these days also make it possible, to a certain extent, to plan defence measures and to combat the threat in particularly endangered areas with water, heating candles, smoke ovens or even elaborate heating wires.

We are all the more appreciative when nature rewards us with reasonable quantities of healthy, perfectly ripe grapes in the best sites, as in the 2022 vintage. We will be presenting the wines from these ‘Erste Lagen ÖTW’ vineyards Ried Käferberg 2022, Ried Heiligenstein 2022 and Ried Lamm 2022 for the first time at the upcoming Tour de Vin weekend! May this little frost report also contribute to the appreciation of the winemaker's craft and his wines and above all: may these wonderful wines soon give much pleasure!