Past vintages
2024
2024 – A Year Full of Challenges
The 2024 wine year in the Eisack Valley/Valle Isarco was marked by unpredictable weather. Frequent rainfall and cool temperatures delayed bud break, while late frost caused damage in lower-lying areas. The striking images of vineyards illuminated by candles traveled the world. Fortunately, our vines remained unharmed. The flowering period was also wet, leading to coulure. Until the end of July, summer remained unusually rainy, making intensive plant protection necessary. Only in August did stable, hot weather arrive, causing drought stress in some areas. Luckily, we were spared from hail damage. Harvesting was challenging: rain and uneven ripening required precise grape selection. Thanks to an early harvest and careful manual work, we were still able to ensure good quality.
06/08/2024 Flowering • 08/04/2024 Veraison • 09/02/2024 Start of harvest • 09/23/2024 End of harvest
Memories of the Year
- Official organic certification: A significant milestone for us.
- First participation in VinNatur: A fair that truly inspired us.
- Grandma Maria turns 95: A wonderful reason to celebrate life.
- New Year’s Eve in Sri Lanka: Carmen and Hannes welcome the new year together in a tropical paradise.
2023
Turbulent Wine Year 2023 – Wet Summer Meets Golden Autumn
The 2023 wine year in the Eisack Valley/Valle Isarco was marked by extraordinary and sometimes extreme weather conditions that presented numerous challenges in the vineyard. A dry spring was followed by a wet summer with heat waves. However, a golden autumn finally brought the long-awaited balance, allowing for harmonious grape ripening. The 2023 vintage is considered to be of very high quality, with excellent conditions for wines that exude elegance and finesse. Our white wines stand out for their freshness, fruitiness, and moderate alcohol content.
06/10/2023 flowering • 07/27/2023 Veraison • 09/06/2023 Start of harvest • 10/02/2023 End of harvest
Memories of the Year
- Hannes turns 30: A special milestone in his life
- Third year of organic conversion: Our journey towards even more sustainable and natural wine production continues
- Planting of Souvignier Gris and Bronner: New grape varieties find their place at our estate
- Carmen and Hannes climb the Ortler: South Tyrol’s highest mountain, a climb to maintain perspective and gain new inspiration
- First time at Raw Wine Berlin: We are proud to have presented our wines at this renowned fair for the first time and to have made new connections
2022
- hot, hotter, 2022?
- beautiful grapes, exciting wines
This has never happened before on our farm: we started harvesting for the first time in August. As you may remember/know, summer 2022 was hot and dry. The winegrowing year started with a relatively late budding, but due to the hot temperatures it has developed into an early year. To ensure that sufficient acidity and the associated freshness are not lost, we decided to harvest particularly early. The harvest was a real feast for the eyes: we can't remember such beautiful and healthy grapes.
4 June 2022 average flowering • 27 August 2022 Start of harvest • 13 Sep. 2022 End of harvests
We remember
- Year two of switching to organic
- We bottle all wines unfiltered, with Nomacorc (made from sugar cane) and without a capsule
- Our small holiday apartment is being redesigned by Mama Frieda & Carmen
- We offer vegan & vegetarian Törggelen
- Mama Frieda suddenly falls ill and fights back <3
2021
- Rainy summer & bright sunshine for harvest
- Balanced & juicy wines
The year started with the coolest spring in around 30 years. This resulted in delayed flowering. Between full bloom and the beginning of ripening lay a dry, warm June and a rainy July. August was marked by thunderstorms. The fungal pressure was high, but we worked hard and were able to keep the fungal infestation at bay. Just in time for harvest, autumn weather set in with warm daytime temperatures, cool nights, and blue skies, and we were able to harvest healthy grapes. As in 2020, we tended to start harvesting earlier in 2021 to bring wines with lower alcohol levels and more lively freshness into the glass.
06/14/2021 Late flowering • 08/08/2021 Veraison • 09/17/2021 Start of harvest • 10/12/2021 End of harvests
We remember
- We start with our organic certification. Year one of the transition begins.
- Grandma Maria is not traveling to our mountain hut for her summer retreat this year
- Carmen moved back from Vienna to Alto Adige just in time for the harvest
- We are offering "Slow Törggelen". No overloaded butcher plate, but several small courses with an authentic taste
- For the first time, we bottle our skin-contact VIEL ANDERS and 1500 bottles of Pet Nat
2020
- warm & balanced
- Authentic & long-lived wines
April was dry, warm and sunny. One high followed the next. In May, temperatures were slightly above average and rainfall slightly below average. Flowering went off without a hitch. We can look back on a balanced summer with pleasant temperatures and optimal rainfall. However, 100 litres of rain fell within 3 days in the last weekend of August. This enormous amount of rainfall increased fungus growth in the vineyard. We reacted quickly and started the harvest early. We picked the grapes within only three weeks. It was one of our organisational masterpieces.
1 June 2020Average flowering • 22 July 2020 veraison • 9 Sept. 2020 early harvest start • 30 Sept. 2020 end of harvest (we were quick)
We remember
- Lock-down starts on Hannes' 27th birthday on 10 March 2020. He gets a rooster for his birthday.
- Hannes starts organic farming of all our vineyards.
- For the first time ever we produce Verjus - the sour grape juice from early harvested grapes. Our favourite refreshing drink.
- Carmen often comes to South Tyrol for home office over the summer.
- We end our Törggela season early due to the pandemic.
2019
- Warm
- Fresh, lively wines
The winter months were exceptionally mild. April was too wet and also a too mild. May 2019 unusually cool - the coolest May since 1991. It was also cloudy with repeated rain. This led to a delayed flowering, which was followed by a hot June with a pronounced heat wave at the end of the month. August was warmer than average with balanced rainfall. September was slightly warmer than the long-term average. The most striking event was a winter onset up to medium altitudes on 8 September, which stopping potential rot. The main harvest began in mid-September. For the first time, we started picking earlier and avoided overripe grape material.
16 June 2019 Slightly delayed flowering • 31 July 2019 Veraison • 13 Sept. 2019 Harvest start (average)
We remember
- At the annual Easter feast at the "Fonteklaus" inn it felt like Spring.
- At the beginning of May the valley was covered in fog, but it was not fog but the SMOKE of the paraffin candles lit to fight the late frost. Fortunately, the temperatures did not drop too much.
- Hannes started with the organic cultivation of a vineyard. The vineyard remained healthy and vital throughout the entire growing season.
- For the first time we picked grapes for our Pet Nat (100 bottles).
- Hannes had a remarkable share in the work in the vineyard and cellar for the first time.
- Grandma Maria turned 90 :)
2018
- Hot
- Very good grape quality
Due to the cool February and March, the budding of the vines started a little later. However, the humid and unusually warm April and May led to early flowering, which was already completed by the beginning of June. June and July were characterised by above-average temperatures with less precipitation than average. August was hotter than average, full of thunderstorms and correspondingly wet. The harvest began a few days early. In September, one high followed the next; with a few exceptions, it was consistently warm and, above all, extremely sunny. This allowed us a relaxed harvest in the cool morning hours.
4 June 2018 Late budding but early flowering • 28 July 2018 Veraison • 17 Sept. 2018 Start of harvest (a little early)
2017
- Hot
- Very good, ripe grape quality
Already March, as well as the first two weeks of April, were exceptionally warm. This favoured an early budding of the vines. In the middle of the month, the weather changed permanently and was followed by a massive cold snap with frosty nights around 20 April. Our vineyards were not spared the late frost either.
This was followed by warmer than average months in May and especially in June - only the June of 2003 had been hotter. Due to the warm temperatures we had hardly any problems with peronospora and mildew.
The temperatures in July were slightly above average. Frequent thunderstorms followed at the end of the month. August brought very high temperatures in the first two weeks - over 37 degrees centigrade. At the same time there were large hailstorms with damage to the orchards, especially between the Eisack Valley and the Unterland.
The harvest began in large parts of South Tyrol already in August and thus 10 - 14 days earlier than usual. September 2017 will go down in weather history as a month that was clearly too cool, with little sunshine and a little too wet. We were largely spared the precipitation, so we were able to finish harvesting in peace.
Early budding • frost (30-40% failure) • normal flowering • 10 - 14 days earlier harvest
We remember
- At the end of April, Tata and mum picked up Carmen in Steinach in Tyrol, as she couldn't get far with public transport due to the heavy snowfall.
- Hannes completed his training as a technician for viticulture & oenology in Weinsberg.