Weinlese 2024: Despite frost and mildew - quality enthusiastic!

Weinlese 2024: Despite frost and mildew - quality enthusiastic!

Waiblingen-Neustadt, Deutschland - This year's wine harvest in Remstal, as the experts predicted in advance, is relatively short, but of remarkable quality. Horst Klingler, wine analyst in the Waiblingen wine laboratory, reports that despite the challenges that the weather and pests such as the cherry vinegar fly brought with them, the grapes are of good quality due to the high moisture and rapid growth phases.

The wine reading is largely completed, and the balance sheet shows both a lower amount and high quality. Klinger had already warned of potential problems that were related to grape health in July and asked the winemakers in a circular to work selectively. This council was obviously taken seriously because the wine producers were largely successfully dealt with with the challenges.

quality via quantity

The expectations of the amount of the year 2024 were initially more optimistic, but reality turned out to be more modest and sometimes deviates up to 20 percent from the original income. Natural wines are particularly affected. According to Klinger, many of these products have not been able to reach the desired alcohol values ​​and fight with high fleeting acid values. Consumers currently seem to be less interested in such wines that demand more interpretation, which also does not benefit the sales figures.

Nevertheless, there are bright spots: "Müller-Thurgau, Kerner and Sauvignon Blanc are the winners," says Klinger. He emphasizes that the miller in particular delivered excellent qualities. The Sauvignon Blancs convince with complex aroma and offer an interesting combination of green and yellow nuances. It also shows that the bouquet types such as Muscattrollinger develop promising aromas that increase enjoyment.

scarce harvest time and challenges

The vegetation period and the reading window were very tight this year with about 80 days and five weeks. These tight time specifications made it necessary to have fully harvested efficiently and without mistakes. Klinger praises the wine producers for their organization, which made it possible to harvest the grapes in good time and in good quality. However, there were also challenges, especially when increasing personnel costs and the speed that was in demand during this hectic time.

It is particularly worth mentioning that the increase in the must weight did not continue as usual. From the first weekend in October, the sugar content remained stable, which meant that the winemakers had to work quickly and efficiently to achieve the best results. "Ronder" was the motto for the late harvesting, especially with the late ripening varieties such as Cabernet and Riesling.

Further details on this topic can be found in the article by www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de .