Indian summer has German winegrowers smiling
Publisert 28. september 2016 | Oppdatert 28. september 201609/20/2016
The main harvest kicked off over the last few days in most wine regions with early-ripening varieties such as Mueller-Thurgau and Dornfelder and will continue with the Pinot varieties.
Harvesting of the later-ripening Riesling will probably stretch until the end of October, weather conditions permitting. A long ripening period with warm days and cool nights promotes the development of aromas in the grapes, resulting in the fruit-driven wines typical for Germany.
As the German Wine Institute (DWI) announced, harvest volumes will be slightly lower this year due to the extremely wet weather in early summer, which resulted in lower yields from downy mildew. According to current estimates, the DWI expects a total harvest volume nationwide of approx. 8.6 million hectolitres – albeit with very large deviations from the mean depending on region and individual estate. This year´s crop would then lie 5% below the ten-year average and 4% behind last year´s totals.
Wine Must Harvest Estimates from 20 September 2016
Source: German Wine Institute (DWI) on figures supplied by the German Winegrower´s Association (DWV)
Wine Growing |
20.09.2016 |
10-year mean |
2015 |
Change2016/2015 |
Change 2016/Long-term mean |
Region |
hectolitres |
hectolitres |
hectolitres |
% |
% |
Ahr |
41.000 |
40.000 |
39.000 |
5 |
3 |
Mittelrhein |
27.000 |
30.000 |
29.000 |
-7 |
-10 |
Mosel |
685.000 |
809.000 |
760.000 |
-10 |
-15 |
Nahe |
250.000 |
331.000 |
314.000 |
-20 |
-24 |
Rheinhessen |
2.300.000 |
2.563.000 |
2.495.000 |
-8 |
-10 |
Pfalz |
2.150.000 |
2.221.000 |
2.267.000 |
-5 |
-3 |
Rheingau |
200.000 |
222.000 |
202.000 |
-1 |
-10 |
Hess. Bergstraße |
29.000 |
30.000 |
31.000 |
-6 |
-3 |
Franken |
490.000 |
446.000 |
420.000 |
17 |
10 |
Wuerttemberg |
1.100.000 |
1.069.000 |
1.078.000 |
2 |
3 |
Baden |
1.200.000 |
1.224.000 |
1.159.000 |
4 |
-2 |
Saale-Unstrut |
55.000 |
43.000 |
53.000 |
4 |
28 |
Sachsen |
25.000 |
20.000 |
25.000 |
0 |
25 |
TOTAL |
8.552.000 |
9.048.000 |
8.873.000 |
-4 |
-5 |