The red wines are drawn-off...

After completing their fermentations, and approximately three weeks maceration on the skins, our red wines have been drawn off into the cellar. The casks have been arranged, and filled with the freely running wine from the red wine fermentation tanks. They are then sealed with an airlock, which allows for the progress of the secondary fermentation (biological reduction of acidity—or more precisely, malolactic fermentation) to be monitored as closely as possible, as well as protecting the wine from vinegar flies. This malolactic fermentation will result in a portion of the wine’s acids—the malic acid—being converted to lactic acid during a fermentation (along with carbon dioxide, which escapes into the atmosphere). The red wine is rendered smoother by means of this process, in addition to becoming microbiologically quite stabile. The drying grape-mash is then cleared out of the fermenters, put into the press and pressed out. This press-wine is kept separate, and after a year’s time will be evaluated for quality.

 

Weingut Kollwentz
Burgenland
www.kollwentz.at

The 2013 Harvest is History!

We harvested the last of our vines yesterday under the best possible weather conditions. And thus the 2013 vintage will go down in the annals of our estate as a worthy representative of the tradition, whereby vintages ending with the number 3 seem to prove particularly noteworthy. Even if some days we were obliged to save our grapes from threatening rainfall, their spiciness and concentration of sugar, acidity, and aromatic material all pack a lot of muscle. The white wines as well as our reds are showing great class and style. The significant amount of rainfall in the springtime, the searing heat of the summer, and the changing moods of autumn kept us constantly on our toes. What we did and how we worked in the vineyards was extremely important—it's a vintage where the grower's dedication meant a great deal. And equally important, we harvested the grapes with a well-trained and efficient team at just the right moment—which ultimately proved the key to success.

 

Weingut Kollwentz
Burgenland
www.kollwentz.at

 

In the Press-House

...and at the same time in the press-house, the Blaufränkisch musts from the past few days are getting some air—this promotes propagation of the autochthonous yeasts.

Pumping the musts over and punching the cap down is scheduled every three hours, round the clock.

Weingut Kollwentz
Burgenland
www.kollwentz.at

Blaufränkisch Harvest 2013

The weather played ball for a change—at least for a couple days—and we are picking as much as we can.

We've cut down to two workers in the cellar; everybody else is out in the vineyards.

Yesterday we finished harvesting our vineyard 'Point,' and today we're out in the ‘Setz’ once more.

We're very happy with the luscious and fully ripe Blaufränkisch berries—this is our reward for perfect canopy management.

Weingut Kollwentz
Burgenland
www.kollwentz.at

And now we're really busy!

Day before yesterday we harvested the Chardonnay from Tatschler. It was cold and sunny: made to order. 

The Chardonnay grapes were fully ripened, totally healthy and tops in terms of taste—it was a total joy to pick them.

And then yesterday we turned our attention to Gloria: here as well, everything was perfectly ripe. 

The grapes are de-stemmed, lightly crushed, and then spend a few hours in the press. 

On the same day—or latest the very next—the must is transferred into the small casks to ferment.

And there's not a lot of time: up until a few days previously these casks were home to the 2012 vintage,

which was then put into a tank. The casks were washed; a few old barrels were replaced with new ones—

all the barrels had to be organized and moved into place before the must could be drawn-off into them.

You sort of get the idea: there's quite a bit going on at Kollwentz these days!

 

Weingut Kollwentz
Burgenland
www.kollwentz.at

 

We're making progress!

Yesterday we harvested the Pinot Noir from Ried Dürr, where it took us seven hours to pick .84 hectare.

We've got an appreciable quantity of Zweigelt ahead of us today—larger clusters, with a more open canopy...

Thanks to the cool temperatures and the wind, the grapes have taken little harm from the rainfall in the last couple weeks.
And during the hot summer, the skin of the grapes grew good and thick, which contributes greatly to their extremely healthy condition.

We've even got shriveled grapes that are very healthy, which is a certain indication of top quality.

Weingut Kollwentz
Burgenland
www.kollwentz.at

 

We worry and wait, hold our breath and hope...

All done harvesting the Sauvignon Blanc Steinmühle!

 

This really has caused us some anxiety, since every day at some point it's started to rain.

 

Despite this we were mostly able to continue picking, and wrest the Sauvignons out of the grasp of the rain.

The grapes are 95% healthy, and we were only obliged to discard a comparatively small amount.

 

The must-weight is a perfect 97° Öchsle, and the cool temperatures are helping us in the vineyard (no outbreak of rot), as well as in the cellar (where cooler conditions keep down the rate of oxidation)—which means more time to dedicate to each of the many tasks at hand.

 

Now the second portion of the Sauvignons is in the cask as well, and we can finally exhale!

Weingut Kollwentz
Burgenland
www.kollwentz.at