The 2017 Eiswein harvest

January 7, 2017. Written by Franz Türk. Category: News.

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Freezing conditions bring perfect weather for our Eiswein (ice wine) harvest.

On Saturday 7 January 2017 at 6am, we were able to harvest our Grüner Veltliner grapes in the Loiserweg vineyard in Stratzing (Kremstal) at a recorded minus 11.3° Celsius. Due to the freezing temperatures, we achieved the remarkable sugar concentration of 34° KMW (170 Oechsle).

2016 the fourth warmest year recorded since 1768

After a long wait and many near-attempts over the past few weeks, where it was not sufficiently cold, we finally picked our frozen. The year 2016 was not only the 4th warmest year recorded since 1768, but it was also one of the wettest since 1858, when records of precipitation began. According to the Austrian meteorologists at ZAMG, the year 2016 is put amongst the 25 wettest years within this period.

However, the devastating spell of late frost at the end of April was one of the most severe frost damages in agriculture in recent decades.

The harvest of the Eiswein grapes marks the end of the 2016 vintage. We were fortunate to have got off reasonably lightly during the Spring frost, and in 2016, we are happy to report that we harvested both outstanding quality in satisfactory volumes. Considering the circumstances, we are very pleased with the result.

– Franz Türk (January 7, 2017)