If I am remembering correctly I think a lot of the lighter options back then did not have the acid levels that some of today’s versions have? Is that fair? I know you are not the biggest fan of the high acid ones.
On a similar note, J.J. Prum used to not make kabinetts when they said the vintage conditions didn’t suit the style. This resulted in several years where they skipped it, especially for the Wehlener Sonnenuhr (not made in 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013). But they haven’t skipped it since then. Is that because they’re using techniques to better fashion such wines, or is it that the opportunity cost of not making kabinett is now higher than it used to be?
Depended as it always does on the vintage. 2004 had good acids, as did 2008. 2005-2007 not so much.
That’s a good point. I think that more and more producers now realize you have to adapt to climate change. With the exception of 2021, the days of waiting until Golden October to start the harvest have been misguided in recent years.
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Scores, but also the history of making wine in Germany/the Mosel. Where - as you know - the struggle for ripeness was traditionally the struggle. The reversal of that history by the climate change paradigm is very new!
And I don’t think it was just a US-phenomenon to think Spatlese for Kabinett pricing was a good thing. Of course the market for the off-dry wines was small in Germany. But the basic logic seems to be sound, and a product of its time.
But time moves forward and so does winemaking/wine culture.
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Picking earlier is not an option if the grapes are underripe. That’s why many growers who seek lighter wines through higher yields have to let the grapes hang longer. But they are also accustomed to having relatively high yields. And, when they can pick the grapes somewhat early, the must weights are often quite low. This results in wines that are a little thin.
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Isn’t part of the reason also the successive vintages of high heat and drought are causing the vines to shut down sugar production, producing slimmer wines?
I think I remember reading in Mosel Fine Wines that '20 and '22 ended up producing relatively slim, classic wines despite the high heat because of vine shut down. But, you have the firsthand experience with that, so I’m curious whether that is consistent with what you’ve seen on the ground there (or perhaps I am misremembering).
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That’s true. The young vines suffered even more from the heat and drought.
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I know that once one gets botrytis infected berries, yield goes down, which tends to make prices go up.
Are there costs of making Spatlese or Austese in today’s world that make costs of production go up (selective picking, lower yield, etc.) or in today’s world of climate change are costs of making Kabinetts about the same as costs of making Spalese or Auslese or even higher (harder to find grapes that fit for making a real Kabinett, etc.).
I have heard that it is more expensive to make Kabinett because of the increased farming costs to deal with global warming.
Interestingly I have heard it is near impossible to sell Auslese these days.
At Hofgut Falkenstein, we have harvested Spätlese and Auslese before certain Kabinett wines. It depends on the vintage, the site, and even the parcel. The costs are the same. For producers who specialize in dessert wines, it’s another matter.
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Speaking only for the Webers, they don’t farm or manage a vineyard (i.e., a parcel) that usually makes a Kabinett different from one that produces Spätlese or Auslese.
The person who said it is more expensive to make Kabinett just happens to be your neighbor 
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Ha! Let me guess. Egon Müller. 
Maybe he should hire the Webers for some consulting work 
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Do you think you would if you wanted to harvest at (say) 80, 90, 100 and 110 oechsle rather than a narrower margin.
Not to me it isn’t! 
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No, I don’t think so. It’s more about the selective picking of grapes and berries with noble rot.
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I buy it, but have to admit I rarely drink it. Need to fix that.
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Auslese trocken, no problem, happy to buy.
Sweet auslese just doesn’t fit into what I want to open these days, at all.
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