Wine Diary
Wonderful Indian Summer
As far as we can remember, there has never been such a long “summer” period in Kamptal! Actually, temperatures had already begun to rise to summery heights in early spring, and except for a few short periods, until today it has all been a series of “beach weather days” and “barbecue nights!” Wonderful picking weather has already lasted for two weeks now without any rain. Despite careful selective picking, we have made really good progress:
Zweigelt harvest is as good as done. Today we went from the young Riesling vineyards outside the top crus on to the Steinberg vineyards and tomorrow may start harvesting the younger Heiligenstein sites.
By this weekend, our marathon summer might finally end. A short break, followed by cooler temperatures would be great for our team, however, nothing is certain, as the forecast keeps changing on and on for our little area – rain or no rain, that is the question!
Latest news from our cellar team! Without any problems, Chardonnays started fermenting spontaneously in the middle of this week. Today we will press the first Pinot Noirs from Käferberg, as they have finished their process of soaking and then fermenting in one of the smaller wooden vats. It will make just 3 to 4 300-litre barrels, but it means a thrilling first encounter with what will become part of our 2018 Pinot Noir! The young “wine” we sampled reminds of mashed forest berries; it tastes dense, mild and spicy, yet showing enough freshness to keep maturing harmoniously.