Weingut Bründlmayer

Conditions in September 2022, right at the beginning of harvest, seemed relatively favourable for the Kamptal vintners: With the exception of a dry first quarter, our region had been spoiled with well-distributed rainfalls as well as many sunny hours. Our vineyards were looking healthy and still full of vitality. There had hardly been any frost and we only had suffered minor hail damage on Käferberg and Lamm, which happened early in summer and thus reduced the quantity but not the quality of the grapes. Ripeness was about a week ahead of 2021, but did start still a good deal later than in warm years such as 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The changeable weather during the first half of harvest was demanding tactical reactivity.
Program changes were becoming quite common then: impressive cloud formations which, pushed by fresh north-westerly winds, were chasing over the Kamptal and sometimes ‘leaked’. For us this meant quite ‘erratic’ if only temporary rain showers. On several occasions we had to abruptly stop picking at one place and skip over to another momentarily dry vineyard. Debriefings in the early morning aimed at flexibility and were taking longer as we tried to keep many options open.

Much to our relief, some warm and sunny weeks with mainly very cool nights followed, a real treat for growers who had been waiting patiently for more character in their best Grüners. These weeks finally secured the vintage. On the 25th of October, right before Austria’s national holiday, we finished harvest 2022.

Overall, we are quite happy with the result. Our first to be released cuvées are truly charming wines and show great balance. They are fresh, though a little milder than those of 2021 and we can guarantee true drinking pleasure! Our Rieslings impress already in this early state with accessibility, freshness and deep, sappy fruit. A huge thanks to all our vineyards and cellar team turning this vintage 2022 into an “all-round success”!