The grape harvest is still in full swing in many places in Germany. In a few wine-growing regions such as the Palatinate or Saxony, the harvest is already largely complete, said Ernst Büscher from the German Wine Institute in Bodenheim, Rheinhessen. However, especially in the more northerly Riesling regions, the harvest will probably continue until the week after next. The Trollinger in Württemberg is also often not yet ready.
Due to the capricious weather, Büscher expects the annual harvest to be slightly lower than the average of the past ten years, which is 8.8 million hectoliters. The quality harvested so far is good to very good. Saxony and Saale-Unstrut have been particularly hard hit, where only around a quarter of the usual harvest volume is expected, mainly due to late frost damage.
Many Riesling grapes are still hanging in the Rheingau and Rheinhessen
On the Moselle, some winegrowers have only recently started harvesting. "There are also still a lot of Riesling grapes hanging in the Rheingau," said Büscher. In Rheinhessen, the winegrowers are also still hoping for sunshine for the Riesling and are trying to gain a few more Oechsle degrees in the vineyard. The warmth of the sun is still good for aroma ripening.
The winegrowers had a very labor-intensive year behind them, many had to cut foliage three times instead of the usual two and had to use more plant protection due to the heavy rainfall. This also caused costs to rise further.
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