Wine Diary
Rain and Roses!
Today's steadily trickling rain sounds indeed like music to our ears! For many weeks it has not really rained. Each precipitation is precisely noted: This year until yesterday we had no more than 70ml, which is quite below average. However, the last week with cooler weather and even some hope enticing drops of water from heaven did relieve our vineyards visibly! Today as well we immediately recognize a beneficial effect to the vines. Water is the medium for all energy transport through the vascular system and inter alia by evaporation provides the cooling of the leaves.
The expected growth push after this humid phase will surely guarantee full time work for our people in the vineyards! For this week they have still been occupied with the rejuvenation of old vineyard sites. From “Heiligenstein”, they went over to “Ried Lamm” and compensated for the losses of old vines there with young plants.
Roses to “Rosenhügel” (Rose Hill)
Willi & Edwige Bründlmayer had awarded us a fine task to do on the Langenlois site “Rosenhügel”. We were to plant many young rose bushes for this high profile loess vineyard site; it will even more live up to its name.
As most of us surely know roses in vineyards have a long tradition. Originally they were to be found at the entrance of the vine rows and meant to be early indicators of fungus infection, while the really attributed to the beauty of the wine lands and used to please both the growers and their guests.
For our quality requirements this warning would definitely come too late. Today we prefer relying on a network of local weather stations and the continuous presence of experienced people in the vineyards.
PS: From the „Rosenhügel“ stems a most individual “Muskateller”, which more or less succeeds to surprise us every vintage by its results, and whom we also therefore vividly recommend to amateurs of this varietal.