We finished the harvest yesterday. The Oechsle levels are a few degrees higher this year, but the grape musts have excellent acidity. Yesterday morning, we picked Schorsch, so our Riesling harvest started and ended in Bockstein.
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Sadly hearing the yields in the Mosel, particularly in the steep slope vineyards, are miniscule. I feel for all of the winemakers.
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Due to flooding/too much rain? Or some other reason?
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Severe heat and water shortage.
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This has more to do with water retention than steepness. For example, Niedermenniger Herrenberg is not particularly steep, yet it was affected more by the severe heat and water shortage than Krettnacher Euchariusberg or Ockfener Bockstein. Yes, yields are very low this year. They’re even lower if, like Hofgut Falkenstein, you have only one short cane per vine and don’t use chemical fertilizers.
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I think it is fair to say that your vineyards are not as steep as some of the very old vineyards in the Mosel. Many of those vineyards are normally low yielding. I feel for all of you.
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Yes, I think you meant old vines on steep, terraced vineyards, especially in the Lower Mosel region. The ability of vineyards on the Saar to retain water varies, and grade is not always a significant factor in this regard. Piesport and Graach, for example, have good water reserves, and it isn’t all steep. The same is true for Scharzhofberg.
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As a follow-up to my previous post, I know that both Piesport and Graach are located in the Middle Mosel region. I just wanted to point this out.
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I remember this being the consistent refrain, from my time last year in the mosel. I would ask each winemaker I met about climate change, aspect, solar intensity, wind, etc. everything was second fiddle to their thinking about water retention.
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The Middle Mosel received more rainfall than the Saar and Ruwer. Similarly, some areas in each subregion received more rain than others, and some sites or subsites retain water better than others. I discuss this in greater detail in my “Notes on Some Important Saar and Ruwer Vineyards.”
My point was that areas with gentle slopes can also be prone to drought. The determining factors are rainfall, drainage, and soil composition. While steeper slopes generally have less water retention, there’s more to it than that. Some slopes have better water reserves than others.
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Hearing more reports from the Mosel about lower yields. I know it is early but the quality is excellent and it should be a great vintage.
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Thanks for all the detail, Robert and Lars!
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My pleasure, John!
After Dr. Wagner and von Hövel closed earlier this year, only a few Saar producers still ferment most or all of their wines in traditional Fuder casks in old cellars. These include Zilliken, Falkenstein, and Egon Müller. Zilliken has around 80 Fuder, including many new Hösch casks. Falkenstein and Egon Müller each have around 30 Fuder. Egon Müller’s Scharzhof Riesling primarily ferments in stainless steel. Before closing, Dr. Wagner and von Hövel had approximately 80 and 40 Fuder, respectively. Dr. Wagner exclusively used Fuder casks. Von Hövel also fermented many of its wines in fiberglass and stainless-steel tanks. The Bischöfliche Weingüter Trier has 200 Fuder, most of which are from Hösch.
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Lars, if Egon Muller has as many as Falkenstein they must use steel for wines other than the Schartzhof too? Unless my production figures are off?
I guess the GK and up are also in steel?
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You’re probably right. Falkenstein is closer to 40 than 30 Fuder. Egon Müller has about 20 Fuder in the main cellar, with some additional Fuder casks in other spaces or the cool chamber. Maybe there are fewer than 30 Fuder. I wanted to keep it simple. Egon Müller has several large stainless-steel tanks from Speidel. These are mostly used for the Scharzhof bottling.
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In 2017, Falkenstein had 32 Fuder and 2 Halbfuder. The Webers then purchased three new Fuder from Sodarstvo Učakar. They later replaced these with old Fuder from Carl Loewen. The new ones are located in the wine press house above the cellar. Falkenstein has 39 Fuder, and the 2 Halbfuder make it 40.
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On my last visit to Scharzhof, Egon Müller had about 20 Fuder casks in the main room with the columns. Six of those casks were somewhat newer ones from Sodarstvo Učakar. As I mentioned above, I recall seeing some other Fuder casks, including a few barrels for storing smaller amounts of wine, in other parts of the cellar. I’m sure he has made a few changes since then.
I just got back from the Mosel, where I had the opportunity to talk a bit about the 2026 harvest at Dr. Hermann. They are wrapping up the harvest in the next couple of days and seem to be some of the last that are still harvesting (same as Selbach in Kesten - not to be confused with Selbach-Oster btw). Grapes are small and overall very healthy, but drought was a problem and sugar content of the grapes is pretty high. At Selbach they told me that they were having a very fun time harvesting, but I have the feeling that overall people are a bit cautious to be too enthusiastic too soon.
Anecdotally they are very happy about the 2025 vintage at Dr. hermann.
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