Dreissigacker Wine Year

Throughout the year, everything at Weingut Dreissigacker revolves around the best wine quality. First of all, the focus is on the vineyard with the optimal soil quality, the protection of the vines, the reduction of yields and the optimal harvest time. The biodynamic cultivation of our vineyards demands a lot of attention and understanding for the natural cycle. After the harvest, the Dreissigacker team continues with full focus in the cellar. The wines are aged, assembled and finally bottled. In the Dreissigacker Academy, we show how a vintage is created over the entire wine year.

Preparations for the new vintage

From the perfectly tended vineyard to the carefully prepared cellar. Even before the first grapes arrive, the cellar is tidied up and polished to a shine. To make room for the new vintage, we bottle the ripe wines that have been stored on the fine yeast. Emptied and thoroughly cleaned, the barrels and tanks are waiting to receive the wines of the 2023 vintage.

Vintage 2023 - when 80 hands give 100 percent...

More than 40 people are involved in the harvest every day. 80 eyes and 80 hands meticulously selecting the best grapes. The Pinot Gris in particular required intensive selection - only the healthiest and most concentrated berries are allowed to become part of the new 2023 vintage. The Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes are also waiting to ripen in the cellar with outstanding quality thanks to the previous care and precise harvesting. The grapes are characterized by concentration and promise to be full-bodied wines with a strong character.

Riesling harvest

The Rieslings ripened this year under special weather conditions, which on the one hand contributed to the concentrated flavour, but also made a significant reduction necessary. Although this means that we can expect extremely low yields, we can also expect outstanding Riesling qualities. Even though the summer persisted for a long time and gave our grapes an extra dose of sunlight, we are now finally heading towards autumn. For our vineyards, the moderate temperatures mean optimal conditions for the harvest. Over the next two weeks, we will have gradually walked each plot several times in some cases, picked each grape and sent each berry to its destination.
So far, the 2023 vintage has been characterized by uncompromising yield reduction. A method that brings out the character of the different grape varieties and individual vineyard sites in the finest detail - and a procedure that requires not only many, but above all conscientious and detail-loving harvesters. Thanks to the combined efforts of an irreplaceable team, we can look forward to an exceptional collection.

Gentle processing

The first grapes of the new vintage have already arrived at the winery. Once there, the grapes are gently pressed with the feet for a short maceration period. They are then gently pressed. Using this thousands of years old technique, we extract the aromas, color and tannins without damaging the grape seeds. In this way, only the flavourful components of the grape come to the fore. We also take a gentle approach to pre-clarification, working exclusively with sedimentation so that the full flavours are transferred to the barrels and tanks.
Fermentation then begins in the cellar. The team's full attention is required during fermentation control. It is observed, monitored and analysed to ensure that the fermentation process achieves the best possible results for our wines. The red wines are fermented on the skins. By regularly - but gently - submerging the mash, we extract even more color and aromas. Just like the harvest, the processing of our wines requires full concentration and sensitivity. A feat that can only be accomplished with a dedicated team.

Wine year 2023

As our wine year draws to a close, some of our old vines are also reaching the end of their life cycle. They have done their duty and are carefully removed by hand. In their place, fresh, young life can move in in the new year. We loosen the soil between the rows of vines to create the best possible conditions for the upcoming young vines and to give the existing vines a well-deserved winter rest. We then return the wood from the old vines, which has nourished them for so long, to the vineyard soil. This closes the biodynamic cycle.
So while we are already looking firmly towards 2024 in the vineyard, we are focussing on 2023 in the cellar, tasting the still young wines, monitoring and recording their development and setting the optimal course for an outstanding 2023 vintage.

A NEW YEAR WITH DREISSIGACKER

Over the next few weeks, we will give you an insight into the creation of the new 2023 vintage - the highest levels of concentration, dedication and attention to detail are what count when making cuvées. In the vineyard, our team has been busy pruning the vines since the beginning of winter - the foundation stone for all future vintages. Each vine is reduced to a single shoot so that it can develop its full vitality. The pruned vines remain in the vineyard as chopped material and form the basis for our humus. In this way, they are fed back into the cycle. As soon as the pruning work is complete, we carefully tie the vines to give them sufficient stability for growth.

SUPPORT AND STRENGTHEN

The pruning was not so long ago. The vines were reduced to a single promising shoot. This bundles the entire vitality of the soil in itself and the grapes that will one day grow on it. All other shoots were uncompromisingly removed. After countless targeted cuts, the vines are finally tied up. To ensure that the berries and foliage have sufficient support on the chosen fruit cane in future, we stabilise it by tying it to the wire frame. To do this, it must first be bent over the wire. Bending requires a special degree of experience, skill and feeling. - Qualities that we can attribute to every member of #team30acker.

Affixing of Pheromone ampoules

Pests are a fundamental problem in all agriculture units. As a winery working organically and close to nature, we categorically reject any kind of chemical pest control. Nevertheless, we have to protect our vines from pests like the grape moth without scaring away the beneficial insects. An effective and gentle method is the so-called confusion method. In this method, small ampoules are hung up all over the vineyards. These are filled with the pheromones of the female grape moth. A cloud of pheromones hovers over the vineyard, confusing the male grape moth in its search for a female. This method only prevents the reproduction of the pest and does not affect other living organisms or the plants themselves. 

Stay tuned...

The wine year is progressing and we are already looking forward to the upcoming tasks in the winery. Next, we will deal with the soil planting in the vineyard. Due to the warm weather of the last few weeks, the vines are beginning to sprout and the new vintage is taking shape. But more about that soon.