Dreissigacker

A few years ago, when the time came for me to take over the family vineyard and realise my own ideas and vision, I made a decision. I wanted to take something good and make it truly excellent, to transform good flavour into an exciting experience, and elevate pleasant wines to an inspiring experience.

In all that I did, I worked with the unique mineral composition of our vineyards, the local climate and microclimate and harnessed my deep passion for winemaking. Ecology, sustainability and the respectful use of the existing resources has gradually changed the face of our vineyards. Imagination and pragmatism were my daily helpers in my search for the perfect vine. Since I started cultivating the vineyards, several of my wines have attracted a certain interest. This is a source of great pleasure to me, as it keeps me inspired, keen and courageous in my mission to create exciting, multi-facetted wines of exceptional quality that will fascinate wine enthusiasts.

In addition to the composition of the soil, the climate and the viticulture methods that are used, the act of picking and pressing the grapes possibly has the greatest influence on the quality of the wine. To determine the ideal moment to harvest the grapes, we continually pick samples for pressing and tasting. As soon as we feel that the must is perfect, we start harvesting. The most important rule is to handle the grapes carefully; bruising must be avoided in order to prevent oxidation or premature fermentation, both of which are detrimental to the quality and lead to a loss of flavour.

We harvest using comparatively small containers with a capacity of 600 litres, which enables us to handle the grapes with the utmost care. Once the grapes arrive at the winery, we allow the fruit to stand in their own juice for a few hours. This releases many essential aromas that developed in the peel while the grape was on the vine; these shape the flavour of the wine and define its unique character. We leave the must to ferment without any further interference to ensure a completely and wholly natural fermentation process.

The path to a truly great wine lies in limiting the amount of grapes that are allowed to ripen. At the beginning of every year, we carefully prune and manually rewire all our vines by hand. This allows us to influence the grape harvest and its quality as early as January. Our painstaking work results in glossy dense foliage.

Early in the summer, we cut off at least one third of the grapes on each vine in what is called a 'green harvest' and leave them to lie on the ground where they gradually rot and become humus which, in turn, enriches the soil. The bunches of grapes that are left on the vine benefit from more essential nutrients, light and air, allowing them to ripen perfectly. These grapes yield a rich, aromatic must which, with a little luck and a lot of careful work, including selective picking, gentle transport and handling and extended yeast fermentation with the yeasts present on the grapes, will mature into an exciting, truly great wine with a distinctive bouquet.