Thinning out the shoots

Our Sauvignon Blanc in the Ried Steinmühle is growing twice as many shoots
as it should...

This would cause the leaf canopy to become too thick, with all of the
attendant negative factors like shadow-casting, greater danger of fungal
infection, and unnecessary consumption of nutrients.

So we are now removing the small shoots and those that bear little clusters.
This work requires a practised hand and a great deal of time.

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Caring for the young vines

We replanted over one thousand vines this year.
In order for them to thrive and grow properly, they need all of the water,
nutrients and sunshine that they can get.
We expose them more fully to the light, and carefully place protective mesh
screening around them, which prevents the deer and the hares from feeding on
the infant vines.

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Topping-up

While it was pouring rain outside, we worked in our cellar and topped up the casks.

In this process, the volume of wine that falls prey to natural evaporation is replaced and the barrel is once more refilled to the brim.

 

For every 225-litre barrique in every vintage, this amounts to some 5–10 litres of wine. Or in other words, every time we top up the casks,

it consumes the equivalent of one barrique of wine.

 

We use a 50-litre vessel of stainless steel, and out of this, propelled by a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, the wine passes through a hose and a spigot into the cask,

after which the bung is tightly replaced once more.

 

Tasting

Prior to being arranged and put into order, the individual wines were
meticulously tasted.
Colour, aroma, flavour, overall impression and finish are painstakingly
evaluated, before we swing into action in the cellar.
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Vinaria Trophy 2015...

Hans Harkamp and mentor Fritz Kaufmann

Claudia Altrichter

In this year's Vinaria tasting, our Tatschler 2012 Chardonny dominated the
category 'PInot Reserve' and won the Gold Trophy!

The weather cooperated as well, and we were all able to enjoy the festive
mood in the Palais Niederösterreich.

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New planting of a vineyard, part 1...

We are now planting vines in the parcel of our Ried Point where we placed
drainage hoses last year (see our entry for 14 November).

The young vines are some 35 centimetres in length, and are planted to a
depth of 30 cm.
After this, the rods to which the growing trunk will be bound are driven in
next to the vine.

We will be constructing the wire trellising in the next few weeks.

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Protective fencing.

The vines are now sprouting, and the young, fresh shoots are regarded as a
true delicacy by the deer.

And so we are putting up fences to protect the vines in the vineyards
Tatschler, Gloria and Dürr; if the deer were to come and feast upon the
young shoots, it would mean a significant loss to this year's harvest.

If they were to return and eat the secondary buds that grew later, it would
even endanger the subsequent harvest as well.

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