Erecting the trellises

After the rainfall in recent weeks and the past few days that were dry and hot, the subsoils remain moist while the surface is dry.

These are ideal conditions for driving in the poles. Unfortunately not all of the poles reach the necessary depth of 50 cm. 

So tomorrow we have to get out the hydraulic chisel and finish up.

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Defoliation

The rainfalls of the previous week have accelerated this year’s growth.

The rapidly growing vines are now being defoliated on the east side – the side of the morning sun.

In doing this, some two leaves per shoot and the redundant secondary growth are removed from the cluster zone.
This allows the sun to reach the grapes better.

In one regard, this  toughens the grapes against sunburn, while the danger of fungal infection is also reduced.

And we hope that we can continue to avoid any bad weather!

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Tending the second-year vineyard

The weather this year is encouraging the vines to flourish quite wonderfully.

After the first year’s growth of some 1–1.5 metres and then being cut back quite close to the ground during the winter,
the cycle begins once more.

The vines we planted in 2017 have now mostly reached the top wire. 

Next year, the nicer of this year’s two shoots will be pruned to produce the first small yield.

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Trimming the vines

New growth is trimmed, so that the vines don’t break off above the highest wire. This is executed by means of a leaf-cutter with rotating blades.
After this, the foliage canopy is stable.

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Blending the Steinzeiler

We are taking advantage of a couple rainy days to blend our 2017 Steinzeiler.

First, we taste the various lots.

Then the individual components are blended together to create the cuvée, and the casks are washed out.

Next, we burn sulphur in the barrels, and the Steinzeiler goes back into cask for an additional 18 months.

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Work in the vineyards

We are now hard at work in our vineyards, with three tractors and a team of eleven.

Dali is clearing out unwanted growth from around the base of the vines, using an implement that cuts weeds with rotating filaments.

Kollwentz Senior is loosening the topsoil with a disc harrow.

Most of our other co-workers are ‘threading’ vine shoots on the trellis wires.

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Mulching

The greencover is being mulched – this once more provides a great quantity of organic material as fodder for the earthworms,
while the layer of mulch also guards against the topsoil drying out.

The organic material will decompose and the resulting nutrients
will be available to the vines during flowering in three weeks – at the time of greatest need.

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