Opening the stitching wire springs

Driven briskly forward by the recent high temperatures, our vines are
sprouting at an extraordinary rate.

We are already opening the stitching wire springs, to enable the young
shoots to grow more easily into the wire trellising.

Then, when all the shoots have grown above the top pair of wires, the
springs will be closed once more
to give the shoots a better grip.

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Installing the support posts

We call them 'Bagstall', these supporting posts.
Here we are setting them out in the newly planted vineyards, one for every
five vines.
Each post has open eyelets on either side, through which the wires of the
trellising are threaded.

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Pheromones

In order to combat our most dangerous vineyard pest, the Traubenwickler – European grapevine moth – we have adopted a programme of chemical deception,

distributing pheromones in all of our vineyards.

 

The sexual attracting agent of the grapevine moth is applied to wires some 15cm in length, which are placed on the trellising.

These pheromones cause the male moths to become disoriented, so that they no longer find their way to the females.

 

 

Application of Lime

In our Ried Gloria the vine trunks are being painted with hydrated lime, to
prevent the cutworms from devouring the incipient buds.

This treatment is extremely successful - in three nightly inspection tours,
we could find only isolated, individual cutworms.

However, this takes a lot of time and energy - nearly 20 hours per hectare!

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Pruning

After spending fourteen weeks on it, we are finished with pruning.
Additionally we have removed the vine trimmings from many of our vineyards, and bound the canes that will bear this year's crop to the wires

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Pruning

With the young vines in the Steinmühle, we use a 'constructive' method of
pruning, in order to mould the grapevine into its future form.
This process takes about five years, after which it is comparatively easy to
follow the established system of pruning year after year.


In the background, a view of the Scneeberg, the easternmost 2000-metre peak
of the Alps.

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Tractor-work with a view

After hacking out the old vines, the former vineyard is levelled, in order
to have an even surface for subsequent cultivation.

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