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Guesthouse - winery |
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From the grapes to the wine in the bottle - the work in the wine cellar
The highlight of the year for the winemaker is the grape harvest in September and October of the calendar year. By selectively picking of the grapes by hand at the right time, which is mainly determined by the degree of ripeness of the grapes and the weather conditions, the winemaker can directly influence the quality of the wine. Beginning with the grapes of the early white grape varieties such as Müller-Thurgau (Rivaner) and Kerner the harvest starts in the flatter areas of the sliding slope around Ellenz-Poltersdorf. These wines have the vineyard names Ellenzer Goldbäumchen and Ellenzer Altarberg or are sold as Classic wines without vineyard names. The grapes of the red grape variety Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder), which we grow in the vineyard Ellenzer Kurfürst, are harvested after the early white wine varieties. The white grape variety Riesling, which we mainly grow in the vineyards Ellenzer Kurfürst and Rüberberger Domherrenberg, is the last grape variety to be harvested. Every day that the grapes remain longer on the vines, the sugar content of the grapes increases and at the same time the acidity is reduced. The sugar content is measured in degrees Oechsle (° Oe). Degrees Oechsle indicates how many grams a liter of grape juice weighs more than a liter of water. The more dissolved sugar is in the grape juice, the heavier a liter of grape juice or the higher is the density of the grape juice. The winemaker terms the grape juice must and winemakers colloquially report the must weight when asked about the sugar content of the grapes.
There are various measuring devices to determine the sugar content: Among other methods the refractometer and the must scale. The refractometer is based on the physical principle of light refraction and can be used by the winemaker in the vineyard to determine the ideal time for picking the grapes: Selected berries are squeezed out so that the grape juice drips onto the glass of the refractometer. If the device is then held up to the sun, the winemaker can see the sugar content on a scale when he looks into the device. The must scale is used after grape harvest when grapes have been pressed: the small glass tube sinks with its own weight and volume to a certain level into a measuring beaker with must (principle of density measurement). The sugar content can then be read off on a scale, whereby a correction factor depending on the temperature of the must has to be taken into account to increase the accuracy of the result. The quality levels of the wines are classified into four groups: table wine, country wine, quality wine from certain growing areas (Q. b. A.) and predicate wines. The quality level of the wine is noted on the label of the bottle. The minimum sugar content of the grapes at harvest for a quality wine from the wine-growing region Mosel was set in 2020 for the grape variety Riesling at 55 ° Oe. In addition, the winemaker must comply with the following general conditions when producing a quality wine from the wine-growing region Mosel: The must or young wine may be enriched by adding sugar, the alcohol content of the wines must be within the range of 8.5% vol to 15% vol and the wines must pass an official quality test, that is why a test number must also be visible on the label. The quality wines from the wine-growing region Mosel can be sold in Ellenz-Poltersdorf stating the collecting vineyard Ellenzer Goldbäumchen on the label.
For a quality wine with a predicate, different framework conditions apply compared to a quality wine from the wine-growing region: The minimum sugar content of the grapes at the time of harvest must be higher and, in contrast to land and quality wine, it is not allowed to enrich the must or the young wine with sugar. The predicate wines are subdivided depending on the sugar content of the grapes at the harvest. For the 2020 grape harvest, the following minimum sugar levels were set for the grape variety Riesling at the wine-growing region Mosel:
The four quality levels of the wines are supplemented by two further quality designations: Classic and Hochgewächs. Classic wines are high-quality, exclusively dry wines made from grape varieties typical for the region. At the Mosel, these include the grape varieties Müller-Thurgau (Rivaner), Riesling and Elbling. The minimum sugar content of the grapes at harvest must be 7 ° Oe above the minimum
sugar content for the quality wine of the wine-growing region. The residual sugar content of the wine after fermentation must not exceed 15 g / l. For Classic wines the naming of the vineyard is prohibited: only the wine-growing region and the vintage is allowed to be noted on the label. The grapes of the white grape varieties Riesling, Kerner and Müller-Thurgau (Rivaner) are pressed immediately after the harvest. The cloudy grape juice received is called must and is pumped into a tub or barrel. The solids previously dissolved in the must overnight settle at the bottom of the reservoir. On the following day, the winemaker pumps the clear must for the subsequent fermentation into barrels, in which the fermentation gases produced can escape upwards through the so-called fermentation bung. The berry skins, seeds and stems of the grapes separated are used to fertilize the vines in the vineyards and can become the base for the brandy from grape pomace.
Mash fermentation is used for red wines of the grape variety Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder): After the harvest, the grapes are destemmed and the stems are separated from the berry skins, the grape juice and the seeds. This process is known as destemping and the resulting mass is known as the mash. The mash is stored in a reservoir in which the mass is regularly mixed and pushed. During storage, the mash begins to ferment, converting a part of the sugar into alcohol. The fermentation process promotes the loosening of the colour and the tannin from the skin of the berries, so that the grape juice turns red. The process can be accelerated by additional heating of the mash. After the mash fermentation has taken place, the mash is pressed and the grape juice is separated from the berry skins and seeds. If Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) grapes are pressed immediately after the harvest without fermentation of the must, the grape juice will not be intensively coloured. The result is a wine called Blanc de Noirs and has a salmon-like color. The name Blanc de Noirs has French origin and represents a white wine made from dark (black) grapes. During alcoholic must fermentation, yeast that is naturally present and, if necessary was added by the winemaker, converts the sugar in the must into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide produced during fermentation makes presence in the fermentation rooms very dangerous. The duration of fermentation and the ambient conditions during fermentation controlled by the winemaker influence the taste profile of the young wine. Alcoholic must fermentation generates heat, which is undesirable for slow and gentle fermentation of the must. In autumn it is usually necessary that wine barrels are cooled to the ideal temperature by ventilating the cellar rooms or the barrels are cooled directly by using cooling hoses. Heating of the cellar room or the barrels in order to reach the minimum working temperature of the yeast is seldom necessary.
Depending on the desired residual sugar content of the wine, fermentation has be stopped by the winemaker: sweet wines have a relatively high residual sugar content. A larger proportion of the sugar contained in the must or subsequently added then has not been converted into alcohol. For dry wines, almost all of the sugar is converted into alcohol, which leads to low portion of residual sugar in the wine. After fermentation of the must is completed, the must is separated from the remaining yeast. The yeast separated is the base for the brandy from wine yeast. After separation of the yeast, the young wine can ripe in barrels. Originally, the wine-growing Mosel was known for wines made from just one grape variety. With the increasing competition from other wine-growing regions and countries and with the approval for cultivation of further grape varieties, various forms of wines made from grapes of different grape varieties now also have been established at the Mosel. A Cuvée is a mixture of wines from different grape varieties, which have been fermented separately and are afterwards composed into one final wine by the winemaker in a certain mixing ratio as part of a wine tasting. This process is called the blending of wines or, in French, of the assemblage, which allows the winemaker to give his wines a particularly harmonious taste that is constant over the vintages. Rotling is a red wine made from grapes of red and white grape varieties. In contrast to the Cuvée, the grapes in the Rotling must be pressed and fermented together. This also means that mixing ratio of the grape varieties and thus the amount of grapes must be determined much earlier
In spring, when the first wine-loving visitors find their way to the Mosel valley again, the wines that riped in barrels for several months, are bottled. After passing test by the Chamber of Agriculture, the bottles are labeled and presented to the customer as part of a wine tasting or sent to the customer by postal service for a wine tasting at home. |
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