Fresh arrivals from two of our favourite brothers, the first wines of the 2021 vintage at Weingut Brand are here!
The first to land are their nouveau-style Brand Red, and the white Pet Nat, perfect timing for this approaching season of chilled red and fizzy things.
2021 was a funny year for Daniel & Jonas, a tricky start with heavy rain and crazy winds, ending with a mammoth eight-week harvest. "Normally we pick everything in one big go, in a three week push, but this year, everything was ripening at such unusual times it was really drawn out. It was hard!"
Not only was the harvest longer, but massive problems with 'Kirschessigfliege' (cherry vinegar fly) meant they had to make brutal selections in the red parcels, often taking well over an hour to even fill a bucket. 6 weeks in, with all the team due to finish for the season, the brothers realised they were nowhere near the finish line.
Jonas put out calls online for as many people as possible to join them for another two weeks. The response was overwhelming. Jonas recalls with a tone of amazement still in his voice, one volunteer; Spencer, a Californian studying sustainable agriculture in Copenhagen:
"He was on a trip to Vienna, and within 2 minutes of my post going onto Facebook, he wrote back saying he had packed his bag, was on the way to the train station, and asking where to go. Just amazing commitment! But that was the case with everybody who joined us at the end there. We were pretty broken by that point, energy dropping. Those people who came through, really saved us. They came in with a fresh energy, such a good vibe and really lifted the whole team through those last few weeks."
As is the case each time we reflect on a vintage with Jonas, he is full of admiration for the picking team, and attests their energy and commitment is reflected in the finished wines:
"You can feel the energy of the 2021 vintage in the wines. Those 8 weeks I think we had the best team we've ever had, we were really working as a team. My Dad, who has done 46 or so harvests, said it was the hardest pick he's ever done- it was such a push, but the energy was amazing, particularly at the end. We had a few volunteers who despite that baptism of fire, have come back to help us out with shoot thinning at the moment, and start proper internships this year. Their passion is really inspiring, we're very grateful. I really do believe the energy of the team translates to the wines"
The white Pet Nat is as we've come to expect, a bright and lively blend of Pinot Blanc and Silvaner, the brothers execute this with such precision now. This year the Brand Red is a little different, but carries the battle-scars of 2021 with grace. With such heavy losses to the Portugieser thanks to the Kirschessigfliege/Drosophila Suzukii fly, what little they picked was saved for Wildrosé.
Brand Red was instead assembled from a few different varieties: 40% Pinot Noir, 30% Dornfelder, 25% Cab Franc and 5% Riesling. All with a carbonic maceration of 10-14 days, mostly pressed to wooden barrels to finish fermentation, with the Pinot Noir pressed to stainless steel. Assembled and bottled with no additions.
"You can feel the energy of 2021 in the wines. I really think this Brand Red in particular, it has so much energy, it's perhaps more wild and diverse: it's such a true example of the crazy vintage"
After that mammoth-pick of 2021, 2022 has thankfully been a much easier start to a vintage so far. Speaking with Jonas as he worked his way through the vineyards shoot-thinning, he's full of enthusiasm for the year ahead.
"It's been a great start to the year, no frost, everything is going smoothly. The shoots are coming thick and fast, so we're doing a lot of work shoot-thinning at the moment. Getting air into the canopy, it really helps fight against any disease. We realised how much work it's going to be, but it really pays off. Basically if you left it, bunches begin overlapping and become really tight, with the fungal pressure here it would be incredibly hard to keep disease out. So we've got 8 people here this week to help us do it all. Not everyone bothers, but we believe it's vital."
It's this attention to detail in the vineyards that make the work the brothers are doing so exciting, with the energy in the parcels clearly translating to the cellar. Jonas is feeling it too:
"It feels like our last 5 years of no-till, no-input agriculture are really paying off. There's just so much energy in the vineyards, I even had to mow for the first time- normally I just roto-crimp the cover crop but it was too thick to even push down! Picking through this afternoonI've just found a clover that's about 8cm in diameter, with a 25cm stem- it's a monster. Everything is exploding with life, I think we're really going to feel it in the grapes."
Shots from Jonas whilst shoot-thinning, May 09, 2022.
JUST LANDED
SPARKLING
NEW 2021 - White Pet Nat - Silvaner, Pinot Blanc
RED
NEW 2021 - Brand Red - Pinot Noir, Dornfelder, Cab Franc, Riesling
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Tom learning about sap flow.