Wine knowledge from the Palatinate – Terroir, grape varieties & sustainable viticulture

What makes a great Riesling? How do granite, limestone marl, colored sandstone, and slate shape a wine's character? And why are PiWi grape varieties like Cabernet blanc the future of sustainable viticulture?
In our wine knowledge section, we'll take you into the world of terroir, climate, soils, grape varieties, and Palatinate wine culture – straight from our family winery, established in 1788. At the same time, with a wink and Palatinate charm, we'll give you a glimpse behind the scenes of our winery. Enjoy our WineTalk!

Wine Knowledge

Starting signal for the 2022 vintage

Now it's finally starting again: The 2022 vintage has begun! Yesterday we harvested the first grapes for the 2022 vintage. These included the grape varieties Müller-Thurgau, Portugieser and Sauvignon blanc.

Even if the vintage is a bit more manual and therefore labor-intensive due to the ongoing drought, we are full of confidence and looking forward to the new vintage. From now on, our harvest team needs about four weeks in the vineyards to harvest the best quality grapes for you.

Autumn is just around the corner

the final preparations for the 2022 harvest are underway:

The holes in the rubber boots are plugged,

the grape press and the wine cellar are cleaned,

the scissors sharpened

fetched the grape wagons from the garage,

AND the harvest workers are hired.

Sommer in den Weinbergen - keine Zeit für die Hängematte!

Summer in the vineyards - no time for the hammock!

The grapes are beginning to change color - we are making great strides towards the 2022 vintage! From now on it will be exciting: the ripening of the berries has begun. Sugar is built up, acidity is broken down and finally the flavor is added! And of course you can already tell white from red wine with the naked eye. Everything is still possible - the quality of the grapes in the 2022 vintage will only be decided in the next few weeks.

But that doesn't mean that we're currently lying in the hammock! We keep a close eye on the grapes so that we can intervene in good time if the vines are no longer doing well.

Sternstunden: Höchste Auszeichnung für unsere Weine!

Sternstunden: Highest award for our wines!

As a winemaker, you work harder than in many other professions single peak in the Year there:

The moment when the new wine tasted for the first time becomes.

This is the moment of truth! That is the moment when it becomes clear whether all the planning, the effort, the sweat, the knowledge that has been brought in, the willingness to experiment and the little bit of luck have been right, whether the result exceeds expectations . And when it is, the feeling is indescribable! It is an inner radiance that permeates everything and makes the heart light.

And then there's another second moment which evokes a similar feeling of happiness:

If your own wines from a renowned jury .

We have just experienced such a great moment, and not just once, no, even for seven (!) of our innovative cry !

Magical hours in the vineyard

There are many highlights in the winemaking year, but one of the biggest is the annual vine blossom. Only when there are enough leaves on the vine and the so-called buds (the beginnings of the future grapes) are fully developed, then the hours of sunshine and, above all, the temperatures (constantly at least 15+ degrees for several days) are right, do the vines begin to bloom .

But how exactly does it work with the vine blossom?