Moselle-region winemakers in Luxembourg and Germany are looking forward to a promising wine harvest starting next month thanks to great growing conditions that they hope will help them overcome reduced consumption due to cancelled events.Moselle-region winemakers in Luxembourg and Germany are looking forward to a promising wine harvest starting next month thanks to great growing conditions that they hope will help them overcome reduced consumption due to cancelled events.
Lots of spring sun meant that vines bloomed early, and with rainfall in recent weeks the grapes are ready to harvest about two weeks earlier than usual, Jean-Marie Vesque of the Cep D'Or vineyard near Stadtbredimus told the Luxembourg Times. Winemakers not only escaped the frost and intense heat that marked last year, there were no major pest or fungal infestations.
"The year 2020 is looking good so far, despite the fact that we're having a dry summer and some water is missing in the soil," said Josy Gloden, president of Domaines Vinsmoselle, a Luxembourg cooperative of around 300 regional winegrowers.
The relatively early harvest for most winemakers is a sign of good conditions, with Vesque saying his estate plans to start harvesting around 5 September. Gloden said he expects the harvest to start in earnest around 10 September and is optimistic that most grapes will be healthy.
While more rain would have been better, dryness isn't as severe as last year, when 80% of the region's grapes were affected by frost in May and intense summer heat - extreme weather patterns that can be read as the effects of climate change.
"We expect some damage of up 15 to 20% due to dryness, but that is compensated by the fact that other grapes will do better in those circumstances," Vesque said. "We expect Riesling and Pinot Noir to do well this year as they're less reliant on water and more resilient in the heat."
While some grapes were damaged by intense sun at the end of July and the beginning of August, it was "by far not as much as in 2019," said Ansgar Schmitz, managing director of the Trier-based Moselwein federation of about 3,000 German winemakers.
There were hardly any problems with pests or fungal infestation this year in the Moselle River valley, both Vesque and Schmitz said.
Cancelled eventsBut the Moselle's wine industry also is coping with the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the region's tourism and gastronomy. Celebrations such as weddings and food festivals had to be cancelled due to physical distancing requirements implemented to limit the spread of the virus.
"These events are important opportunities to get people interested in Luxembourg wine, and of course important sales channels," said Sonja Kanthak of the Institute for Organic Agriculture and Agrarian Culture in Remich.
Gloden estimates that the lockdown measures introduced in March caused a 50% drop in wine sales over a three-month period for Luxembourg producers.
"We notice a distinct shortfall in tourists from the Netherlands and Belgium. Equally, Germany classifying Luxembourg as a (virus) risk region hurts us a lot," said Vesque, a professional oenologist, or expert in producing and managing wine. Events where he would usually sell Cep d'Or's wine are cancelled well into November, he said.
"Between 15 to 20% of our production is exported to Belgium, and as events there have been cancelled too this is also heavily reduced," Vesque said.
This year's unique conditions may also benefit the local wine industry over time.
"The Covid-19 pandemic has shown how important the supply of local food and beverages is and many people have become more conscious of the products they consume. This has a positive effect on the demand for organic wine," said Kanthak, a winegrower and consultant for the organic agriculture institute in Remich.
Helping handsMoselle producers also have been lucky to avoid what had been feared as a shortage of field labour. While Moselwein's Schmitz said German producers might see a shortage of seasonal workers from Eastern Europe in isolated cases, Luxembourg growers anticipated few problems finding enough hands for the harvest.
A verse of the Luxembourg national anthem in Grevenmacher - 'Along the Moselle fragrantly bloom the vines, as heaven gifts us wine'Photo: Yannick Lambert"We have enough people, especially from the neighbouring French region and retired Luxembourgers,"said Guy Krier, owner of Krier-Welbes winery in Ellange-Gare.
Only two weeks ago, Kanthak's Luxembourg organic agriculture federation called for people to join the harvest as travel restrictions have made it impossible many seasonal workers from non-EU countries such as Montenegro to come.
"We are overwhelmed by the many responses to our call for help. Many more people than expected have responded," Kanthak said.
At Cep D'Or, seasonal workers from Montenegro who were barred will be replaced this year with Polish field hands, Vesque said.
Many winegrowers in Germany are currently worried about whether workers from Romania and other Eastern European countries will be able to enter the country in September.
While the labourers may ultimately be allowed entry, "I have, however, already heard from small wine-growing enterprises that, as a precaution, they are trying to mobilise sufficient helpers from family and friends," Schmitz said.
Readying for the futureThe region's winegrowers have learnt from last summer's heat wave about adapting to what may be hotter years ahead. They have added more organic matter to the soil to better hold moisture in the ground, Vesque said. More leaves were left on the vines this summer to better protect the grapes in the heat.
Serge Fischer, from Luxembourg's national institute for wine-growing, the Institut viti-vinocole (IVV), said last year that the country could benefit from climate change as it allows for a wider variety of grapes to be cultivated.
The annual winegrower fest Picadilly, here in 2018, in Stadtbredimus is one of the events that has been cancelled this year due to the pandemic.
The changing weather is making young winemakers more creative and experimental, Schmitz said. Growers have in recent years cultivated Syrah grapes that produces surprisingly good red wines and a winery in Kröv, the Staffelter Hof, has even planted Portuguese vines, he said.
But this year has been ideal for the vines that represent the industry's present.
"The season was, except for the drought in a few of the last weeks, almost tailor-made for viticulture," Kanthak said.