Giving the clusters a bit of light and air.

In the past few days there have been seven of us out in the vineyards,
working on the lower portion of the leaf-canopies--the
cluster-belt--removing leaves in order to to give the grapes exposure to the
afternoon sun as well as to the morning rays. (The side where the morning
sun shines has already been thinned-out in early summer, after the
flowering.) During this process, the old leaves at the base of the
fruit-bearing shoots and side shoots are removed. This serves to shed
sunshine upon the grapes as well as make it possible for the wind to dry the
clusters more easily and thoroughly after a rain or morning dewfall. Getting
sunshine to reach the clusters brings about a more effective retention of
colouring agents in the berries, and it also enhances the development of
tannins. Both of these factors improve the quality of the red wine grapes.
This enables the harvest to proceed more quickly and efficiently, since the
clusters are, shall we say, 'offered up on a silver platter…' This removal
of leaves also helps to maintain the health of the berries. Certainly, the
cluster-belt can be opened out as soon as the process of véraison is nearly
complete—since before there is the danger of sunburn, and the vines react
negatively to a dramatic reduction in the leaf-mass. With our white wines,
the defoliation is done rather late, and to a more limited degree, since
neither the augmentation of colour nor the development of tannins is
desired. In this case it's done only to maintain the health of the grapes.

The images:

Photograph #3 shows the east side of the leaf canopy, which has been opened
up after the flowering. The sunshine is striking this side with less
intensity, so the grapes aren't susceptible to sunburn

Photo #4 shows the west side of the leaf canopy of a vine before defoliation

Photo #5 shows the west side of the same vine's canopy after defoliation.

Not too much, and not too little.

Thanks to the rain during the past couple days it has become cooler, and so
we've gotten out into the Chardonnay vineyards - like here in the Gloria -
to carefully begin our work on the foliage.

We attach the overhanging shoots to the wire trellising and trim them ever
so slightly. This makes for better air circulation around the developing
clusters, without encouraging any danger of the grapes becoming sunburned.

In the white wine vineyards it is particularly important in the hot summer
months to shield the grapes from the strongest sunshine, while at the same
time guaranteeing good ventilation in the space around the clusters;
this guards against he development of fungal diseases.

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Now comes the Green Harvest!

One of our most labour-intensive tasks on the vineyard-calendar is the
'green harvest,' when we are thinning-out the crop.

Here the number of clusters on the vine is reduced-depending on the variety,
this can amount to half of what's hanging.
The process serves to intensify all organic materials and constituent
elements in the clusters remaining.
We find it particularly essential with the red wines, in order to achieve
optimum ripening of the grapes year after year.

The vine will normally develop two and even three clusters on each shoot.
The top cluster is always a couple days behind in its development, and so we
remove it.
Also, it would be receiving less sunshine, so the evolution of tannins and
development of colouring agents would be retarded.

The green harvest actually requires more effort than picking the grapes in
autumn does.
But then, this thinning-out makes the harvest to follow easier, since there
are not so many bunches left to pick and the grapes are more evenly ripened.

So we can often avoid having to make an overly rigorous selection in the
vineyards-
and ultimately, it's easier to get our hands on the clusters, since they all
will now be hanging in plain sight at the lower end of the leaf-canopy.

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And now it's time for pruning!

Here we will shorten this summer's shoots to a length that should keep them
from snapping off directly above the last pair of wires. With this, the
leaf-canopy can grow up to 50 centimetres beyond the top of the trellis, and
reach a totally canopy-height of 160 cm. This will ensure optimum ripening
of the Blaufränkisch clusters — the basis for producing wines with a
powerful and ripe framework of tannins, which promises great aging potential
as well as elegance.

Weingut Kollwentz
Burgenland
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'When the rose hips bloom'

An old saying in Burgenland translates (very) roughly:
'when the rose hips blossom and bloom
a fellow sleeps like he's in the tomb
when the rose hips grow red
you can sleep like the dead'

After last week's heavy rains and this week's bright sunshine, everything is
growing!
We're now working on binding the young vine-shoots onto the wire trellising,

which will keep us occupied over the next few weeks.
And that's but one of many tasks - but more about that soon.

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Kollwentz Steinzeiler 2013

While the rain is falling – currently 111 litres per square metre, which
will last us a while – we've been busy in the cellar!

The Steinzeiler takes shape – the best lots of Blaufränkisch are blended
with small portions of Zweigelt and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our barriques are washed, then lightly treated with a lit sulfur ring – this
protects the wine from oxidation, as well as sterlising the bunghole of the
barrel.
The casks are then filled and finally painted with red-wine lees.

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Mowing and mulching-there's no end to it!

First we make a pass with the tractor, mulching between the rows. This makes
the more detailed manual work with the motor-scythe much easier.

And when we're done doing this, we start mulching the winter-greencover.

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