Another proof of the quality and the early nature of the 2007 vintage in Alsace ? 
We have just picked a small amount of Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles in Pinot Gris.

We wanted to keep the news confidential for a few days before releasing the information. On September 20 we picked these nectars that were controlled by the INAO as per the legal procedure in place since 1983. The certificate was issued by the inspector the following day.

A very unusual rythm this year where we still hesitate to attack our best plots of  Gewurztraminer and Riesling of our domaine. The forecast for the weather was supposed to be overcast and rainy on Monday and Tuesday, but we did not get a drop of rain and the skies have remained clear and blue.

We are harvesting our Gewurztraminer vineyards surrounding the best part of the Sporen. Certain bunches in the oldest vines of the Sporen are showing some interesting signs of the development of noble rot. Nothing new on the Riesling front, this variety continues its slow ripening. More to follow...

We leave you to discover the measurements table of the plots where we had carried out tests earlier on. This table is being progressively updated as our harvest proceeds, with the final figures and the dates of harvest for each individual plot.

One always says that drinking a good glass of Muscat gives the impression of biting into a Muscat grape. This is exactly what a group of top Moscow clients group has been able to witness today in the company of our Russian importer MBG. They were able to taste in just a few hours the Muscat fruit as it was being picked in the Schoenenbourg and then taste the same variety in bottle during the tasting.

Just like a week ago, the grapes were perfectly healthy enabling us to destem he grapes for a 12 hours skin contact. You can view once more the video of the desteming.

With the return of a beautiful dry weather, sunny but fresh on Wednesday September 19, our suppliers under contract go back and harvest at a fast pace. By the end of the week most of the purchased grapes will be in.

In our domaine, only a little more than 6 hectares (15 acres) were harvested to date, mainly Pinot Noirs and Gris. We leave you to discover the measurements table of the plots where we had carried out tests earlier on. This table will be progressively updated as our harvest advances with the final figures and the dates of harvest for each individual plot.

Our main task now is to manage with equal success the harvest of Gewurztraminers and Rieslings fron the remaining 20 hectares (50 acres) of our domaine. No reason to panic the 10 day weather forecast remains favorable, the grapes remarkably sound and we are only on September 20...

First days devoted to the Riesling grape variety as far as purchased grapes are concerned. From Monday on we decide to bring in without any further delay all of our Pinot Noirs from our domaine. We have increased the size of our picking team to about 30 allowing us to harvest all of our best Pinot Noir plots at once.

The weather forecast did announce from Tuesday on a wet front for a couple of days. This won't be too much of a problem for the white grapes but the reds need to be picked absolutely sound as they are. The 10 day weather forecast remains favourable after that brief episode.

It is more than one full hectare of our very best Pinot Noirs that have been secured in optimal conditions, perfectly healthy grapes with average ripeness of 13,4°. A great Jubilee Pinot Noir can therefore be expected in 2007.

Video sequence of the desteming of muscat grapes for a 12 hours skin contact

From Thursday on until the end of the week the aromatic grape varieties will have our full attention. We start receiving the first lots of gewurztraminers both from our contract growers located mainly for this grape south of Colmar in clay and limestone soils. The ripening levels are excellent with an average close to 13° and perfectly sound grapes. In our domaine too we bring in with a reduced team small plots the periphery of our best terroirs of Riquewihr.

Friday is the day when our growers under contract are invited to harvest the Muscat verietal. As far as we are concerned, only about 2 hectares are planted with this grape whose production can be capricious. Because of the limited quantities and particular winemaking for muscat we must receive all of the production over 2 days at the beginning of the harvest.

We also harvest for the first time since 1978 a plot of muscat from our own domaine. Because of its youth, this vineyard will not be vinified separately. Certainly in a few years, with the production of another plot of muscat (variety of muscat d'Alsace a petits grains, both white and red) located in the Schoenenbourg we will be making a special cuvee of this grape.

We proceed, this year again, thanks to perfectly healthy grapes to a 12 hours of skin contact for muscat. The purpose of this process is to exacerbate the primary flavours of this varietal. After 12 hours of maceration the juice is released by a gentle pressing. Our mechanist Marc Kauffmann is proud to have taken part in the design of an elevator which lifts and tips in only one operation the grape containers weighing from 120 to 150 kg. This operation must be renewed 1200 times per day at the peak of the harvest.

Just like every year we wonder how we can get all those grapes into the heart of one of Frances' most touristic village. The logistic side of our harvest requires some constant attention by all family members. Just a few yards away from the effervescence of our courtyard there is a constant flow of tourists walking up and down the main street of Riquewihr. The harvest does not have the same flavour for all...

 
There has not been much time this year to train the temporary staff who come to help us out at harvest time. For the grape picking alone, our comany's workforce triples in size for a period of 3 to 4 weeks.

Trucks of grapes purchased from our contract growers continue to arrive at a steady rate, creating some traffic jams in the centre of Riquewihr. The last truck of the first day was not unloaded until about 2:00am and the final press was filled around 3:30 this morning..

The day's picking concerned the 3 Pinot varietals : Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. Although we have received some grapes from a handful of vineyards that had to be picked early to prevent deterioration, in general the sanitary state of the crop is exemplary with good ripeness levels.

On this first day we have brought in just over half of our purchased Pinot Noirs at potential alcohol levels mainly between 11.5 and 12.5. We have seen better results in the past... but also far worse !

On our family estate, a small team is harvesting a few isolated parcels that were on the fringe of the terrible hail storm of 20 June.

We again invite you to consult the daily figures from our own weather station. The comparison between the daily temperature and humidity levels during the months of May and August are quite interesting. These figures show that we have witnessed a very unusual growing season in 2007. Both temperature and humidity levels were more favourable in May than in August. In August 2003 we had several days above 40° C, while there was not a single day above 30 in 2007 !

Uncle Johnny remains a most valuable source of advice with his 59 vintages' long experience

You can consult the figures of our own maturity controls with the last measurements carried out in certain plots of our estate vineyards on September 5. The evolution is very positive and shows the potential of some excellent results for the harvest itself which will in certain plots only take place in about 4 weeks.