New words from the winemaker's glossary: verrieselt & loosebeerig
We live on a cloud. A cloud of scent made of pollen and sunshine. In the last few weeks our vines have been blooming in the beautiful Palatinate, and there is no more wonderful scent in the world. The bees are in a frenzy of joy and we are happy too, especially because the year did not start so rosy:
After a short, warm spring phase at the start of the year (in February!), frost came again in May and caused the tender shoots to freeze in many vineyards in the 13 German wine-growing regions , as we have already reported. Our vineyards around Weyher were lucky and were spared, thanks to our protected and special location.
And then the rain came. We haven't had such a rainy spring for a long time. To date, we have already measured over 510 liters of precipitation per square meter for the year 2024 (just for comparison: last year at this time we only had 363 liters of rain...). Even the laundry hardly dried due to the humidity, and our arch enemy, mildew, was jumping for joy in the puddles. In conventional winegrowing, we have already had to apply as much pesticide as we normally would in a whole year - and we know that things are much more dramatic in organic farming... So we can only repeat once again how happy we are that the Cabernet blanc has obviously chosen the song "singing in the rain" as its life's anthem. It is growing in an exemplary and relaxed manner, while the mildew walks past it with its nose held high in disgust. Wonderful!
But to keep us winegrowers from getting bored, the rain also turned bitterly cold. At the end of May we had a cold snap that cooled our vineyards to five to seven degrees at night, and the vines really lost all their fun with SEX (we have to write it like that, otherwise this newsletter will end up on the wicked list). Because vines are self-pollinating, but when you're shivering from the cold, nothing is fun anymore, not even reproduction.
In short: Many of the grapes have "spilled" - that's the technical term for when the flowers don't develop quite correctly. The result? The grape (the triangular whole that always oozes out so beautifully from the cornucopias of antiquity) will turn out to be relatively loose-berried this year. (Did you let the word roll off your tongue? Loose-berried . Says it all!)
This of course reduces the yield, but it is probably a blessing in disguise, because a bunch of loose berries can be ventilated better, which in turn protects against the dreaded mold. So the universe does make sense after all - how comforting.
The summer solstice is not long ago. With over 12.5 hours of sunshine and up to 16 hours of daylight, the grapes are stretching themselves out in pleasure - and they are not the only ones. For decades we have had permanent guests in our wine garden, who rest motionless on the sandstone stones and enjoy life (those who order a spritzer move around). Often the two sit right next to each other and eye each other peacefully. We are talking about the wall lizard , a protected species. So keep your eyes open the next time you are in our wine garden at the winery, because the wall lizard is well camouflaged but surprisingly relaxed. It often looks at the camera, which is held under its nose less than 15cm away, with the slightly disdainful look of a celebrity.
Photo: Relaxed wall lizard in the winery garden of the Graf von Weyher winery
And this year there are even more nighttime guests who completely enchant us. Shortly after sunset at around 11 p.m. (!), as we walked from forest bathing at the Schweizer Haus (a fantastic event by the way!) with a cozy spritzer finish through the dark Palatinate Forest towards Weyher, countless fireflies lit our way. It was a magical evening.
So come to the Palatinate Forest and don't be afraid of dusk. We have a very low loss of tourists - firstly, there are signs everywhere on the forest paths, secondly, you can ask other hikers for advice (because the internet doesn't really work here in the forest), and thirdly, we have an insider tip: if you get lost, just walk steadily downhill or follow a river. Sooner or later, you're guaranteed to get to the next village. You can also find more tips and attractive hiking trails on the " Wandercroissant " blog.
Photo: View over Weyher into the sea of vines in the Palatinate, on the left our winery dog Yoko.
Now we are all looking forward to summer and the rising temperatures. With that in mind, enjoy the long days with an ice-cold rosé!
Your firefly-enchanted counts
PS We hope you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You know the saying "learning by doing". The motto of our newsletter is "learning whilst smiling".
Liebe Grafen, :-)
eure Newsletter versüßen uns regelmäßig die Tage, an denen wir sie lesen. Eine herrliche Schreibweise.
Gerade lassen wir die neuen Wortkreationen nachwirken.
Wir wünschen Euch einen schönen Sommer mit tollen Gästen, guten Gesprächen und leckeren Weinen.
Wenn alles klappt, sind wir in der ersten Oktoberwoche auf der Durchreise ein paar Tage bei Euch in Weyher. Dann sehen wir uns und freuen uns auf Euch.
Herzliche Grüße aus dem Sauerländle
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