VDP.Vintage 2024
A review

Reason to celebrate – the 2024 vintage is in the cellar! For many VDP.winegrowers, it will be remembered as an “endless harvest”. While some regions had already started harvesting at the end of August, others were still busy with the harvest at the end of October. A year marked by late frost and uneven ripening of the grapes, which required a careful eye, lots of experience, intensive manual work and, last but not least, a lot of patience. But the waiting, worrying and intensive work have paid off and have resulted in high-quality grapes being brought to the cellars.

In viticulture, no two years are ever the same. So 2024 once again had its pitfalls, which once again demanded all the experience and care of the VDP.winegrowers in order to produce another top vintage – and it could be such a vintage despite all the quarrels, because the healthy grape material that could be brought into the cellar is of outstanding quality.

While it was the drought in spring that worried VDP.members in 2023, this year it was a wave of late frost in April that led to sometimes devastating losses in the vineyards. This was also due to the fact that the winter was relatively warm and the vines had sprouted early. The frost caused the young buds to die in many places. While the vines in some growing regions were able to recover from the frost and hail damage, work in the vineyards continued as normal thanks to the second budding. On the other side the effects in other regions were devastating and in some cases even led to total losses. In the growing areas close to the water and those protected by the forest, for example, only a few plots were affected in some cases. However, as it was already clear in spring that the harvest volume would be dramatically low for some members, the VDP issued a special regulation for this year, whereby the wineries affected by the frost were allowed to buy grapes from other VDP.estates (and thus produced according to the same criteria), which is otherwise prohibited. These wines are marked on the back label with the words “A wine of the VDP solidarity community” and may then still bear the eagle on the capsule. In this way, the loss can be mitigated somewhat. One advantage here is that a large proportion of the grapes are harvested by hand, which makes it easier to selectively choose the grapes and ensure that only healthy grapes make it into the cellar. As a result, the quality is usually excellent, according to numerous winegrowers.

As soon as the horror of the frost was over and hopes were pinned on the second budding of the plants, it became warm, while at the same time it began to rain. In some cases, the vineyards remained wet for weeks. Precautions were therefore taken early on to minimize the risk of potential fungal diseases. The result was a labor- and material-intensive summer. The effects of the frost then accompanied some VDP.members right into the harvest. Because some plots were frozen and some were not, the grapes ripened at very different times. The ripening times were also very different in the various growing regions. While the harvest of the sparkling base wines in Saxony began at the end of August, the earliest ever, the VDP.estates on the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer, which traditionally bring up the rear in terms of time, were still busy with the harvest until the end of October. This gave the impression of an extremely long autumn, which, however, also had its positive aspects, as the extended ripening period allowed the grapes to develop intense aromas. It is clear that this vintage will be remembered for a long time - above all for its exciting, weather-related diversity. The very different development in some areas has led to lower yields, but also to young wines of exceptional expressiveness and intense aromas.

"The late frosts caused considerable damage on the Ahr this year.The two nights of frost in spring caused up to 50-55% of the sprouts to fail, which significantly affected the harvest volume.Early grape varieties, which were hit during the budding phase, were particularly susceptible.Over the course of the year, it became apparent that the frost damage also affected the vitality of the affected vines, resulting in uneven grape ripening.Despite intensive care and targeted measures, the damaged plots were unable to achieve their usual yield levels.

Overall, the vintage can be classified as challenging, labor-intensive, time-consuming, demanding and energy-intensive.The harvest in the Ahr Valley began somewhat later than usual this year, around mid to late September, depending on the individual plots and grape varieties.Due to the frost damage and the high fungal pressure, the harvest quantities were significantly lower, in some locations up to at least 50-70% below the long-term average.However, the quality of the grapes was surprisingly good, especially in the later ripening varieties.The cool nights in late summer and fall led to slow ripening, which gave the grapes a good balance of sugar and acidity. We were able to complete the harvest at the beginning of October and expect a vintage that will produce top quality, especially at the top end, even if the quantities are very limited."

Simona and Paul Burggarten, VDP.Estate Burggarten

"Our growing region was hit by the late frost in April from Freiburg northwards, so to speak, and the general rule is: the further north, the greater the frost damage.In the wine-growing areas south of Freiburg, there were in fact no significant effects from frost.The constant precipitation throughout the growing season was accompanied by a constant fungal pressure in the foliage in the wine-growing areas along the Upper Rhine Graben and on the slopes of the Black Forest.The organic wineries had to work exceptionally hard to keep the situation under control as much as possible.Ultimately, thanks to their great efforts, all winegrowers in Baden managed to maintain an extremely good quality, which was accompanied by considerable losses in quantity in the vast majority of places.While the harvest at Lake Constance and in the Markgräflerland is in line with the long-term yield average, the yield losses are even greater in areas with frost damage.

The general trend remains that grapes are harvested much earlier than a few decades ago, even though this year's harvest began somewhat later than in previous years.In addition to the climatic development, this is also due to the development of a certain wine style that the VDP.estates are striving for."

Timo Renner, VDP.Baden

"The cold nights at the end of April 2024 hit us hard and initially caused shock and uncertainty.But looking back, it turned out that the cold had a positive effect.Despite a loss of up to 30% of the harvest volume and the initial damage to almost half of our vineyards, we were ultimately able to harvest golden yellow, exceptionally tasty grapes.Through hard work and dedication, we managed to turn a difficult situation into something special - which ultimately turned out to be a blessing.The growing year began promisingly with mild winter months and early budding.The rainy summer months forced us to take extra care to get the best out of the vineyards.With targeted measures and a great deal of patience, we were able to provide and secure the grapes in the best possible way, which later resulted in a harvest of exceptional quality.

The harvest quantities were unusually low due to the special conditions.Nevertheless, our winegrowers are very satisfied with the quality of the grapes.At the end of the growing year, the grapes, especially Silvaner, showed a remarkably intense fullness of flavor due to the exceptional weather conditions.Careful manual work and precise selection resulted in wines that will impress with their depth and power.The 2024 vintage impressively demonstrates that sometimes less really is more. These wines will proudly reflect their creation - you will be able to taste the 2024 vintage in every glass."

Melanie Stumpf-Kröger, VDP.Franken

"The year was heterogeneous for us, which is due to the fact that the Middle Rhine growing region between Bingen and Bonn is almost 100 kilometers long.As a result, the damage caused by the frost also varied greatly.While Bacharach, for example, was hit very hard by the frost in places, we were largely spared at Bopparder Hamm.With regard to the rainy summer, it was an advantage that we have many south-facing slopes and therefore the vines always dried quickly.The stone and slate soils in the Middle Rhine region have also softened comparatively little as a result of all the rain, which means that it has remained easy to drive on.That's why we always say: more rain is better than drought.

The harvest volume varied greatly from village to village and also depended on how badly the VDP.estates were affected by the frost.We were very satisfied with the quantity and quality of the grapes at our winery.The Riesling in particular, our main grape variety, coped very well with the cooler weather and both the Oechsle figures and aroma ripeness were wonderful."

Johannes Müller, VDP.Estate Matthias Müller

"On the Middle Moselle, we had a good crop of vines, but on the Saar and Ruwer there is very little yield due to the frost - it is historically low.On the Saar, there was everything from moderate to very severe damage.Some areas near the water were partially protected from the frost by the fog that settled on the vines.There are farms that harvest nothing and others that only harvest half.Almost no one harvests fully.Due to the fact that it was very wet for days and weeks in spring and summer, we had a high fungal pressure in the vineyards.That was very labor-intensive - regardless of whether you worked organically or not.

The harvest began in September with the Burgundy varieties.Where the Riesling came through the frost well or the second generation of grapes was ripe, it was soon possible to harvest.In general, however, the frost delayed the harvest and reduced yields.In addition, the grapes had to be carefully selected during the harvest, because:Any problem that exists in the vineyard does not become a problem in the cellar if you leave it outside.But what we were able to bring home has a beautiful aroma.It will be an exciting vintage."

Dr. Carl von Schubert, Regional Chairman VDP.Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

The late frosts on the Nahe varied greatly.There are communities that were practically spared or without any significant damage and others where 100% of the young greenery froze.In some cases, the honeysuckle sprouted very quickly, so that soon there was almost no recognizable difference in the stage of development.In some cases, however, it also took a very long time, which led to a significant delay in ripening.Foliage grew everywhere, grapes were not always to be found.In any case, the uneven budding led to an enormous additional workload for the foliage work.In addition, the long periods of wetness in summer made it necessary to increase plant protection efforts in order to counteract the fungal pressure.

For us as VDP.winegrowers, however, quality is of course always the main focus of interest: the harvest of the Burgundy grape varieties was very relaxed on the Nahe.The grapes were super healthy and the quality was excellent.

In the case of Riesling, ripening progressed very slowly.It was necessary to weigh up where the grapes were healthy enough to be left hanging for a few more days and where the onset of botrytis had to be prevented.Multiple harvests were often essential in order to obtain the desired grape material. 

Once again, a powerful team was crucial in order to carry out the necessary selections.Where this selection work was possible for healthy, fully ripe grapes, very good quality can also be expected in 2024.The wines now fermenting show very fine fruit and animating acidity.We are looking forward to extremely elegant Rieslings with a cool style."

Frank Schönleber, VDP.Estate Emrich-Schönleber

"The wine year was turbulent for us.There was a lot of rain and the dry windows to do the vineyard work were very short throughout the Palatinate.All in all, however, everything went well and the wineries were able to make better use of the dry periods than in 2021. There was also frost in the south of the Palatinate.In general, the winegrowers realized after flowering that yields would be low.

It finally got dry in August and the harvest into September was great.The Burgundy in particular looked very good.The Riesling then took a little longer.The dry phase in August did not suit it so well and some of the Oechsle levels were rather low.All in all, however, this is not unusual, as Riesling always ripens a little more slowly.The winegrowers just needed a little more nerve this year than in previous years.There will be great Burgundies from 2024 and elegant Rieslings in the classic style."

Franz Wehrheim, VDP.Estate Dr. Wehrheim

"In our growing region, the frost mainly hit Oestrich-Winkel and the vineyards along the Rhine.This was followed by a lot of rain, which lasted until August - this caused a huge wave of peronospora in the Rheingau, which was more of a headache for us in the area than the frost and really depressed the harvest volumes.The changeable weather meant that it took a long time for all the grapes to ripen.We started harvesting on September 5 and were not finished until mid-October.In some cases, we even had to take a break.The Riesling in particular took a very long time.For the VDP.GROSSES GEWÄCHS® wines in particular, we had to look very closely to harvest perfect grapes.Nevertheless, we achieved good must weights, which in some cases also allowed for a longer maceration period."

Markus Roll, VDP.Estate Balthasar Ress

"We started the growing season with good conditions.Despite all the turbulence around us, most of the VDP.Rheinhessen vineyards were spared frost.We are also very happy with our stony and exposed vineyards, and the amount of rain that fell at the beginning of the year gave us hope that we would have a well-supplied year.A wet year is of course a lot of work, but we immediately had the feeling that something good was growing, which is why we were happy to do the work.So the harvest started with good conditions:It was dry, the grapes were beautifully ripe and very healthy.In the second half, however, it started to rain, which was to be expected this year, but this meant that there was some “stop & go” in the harvest, which is never nice.But the grapes had great elasticity thanks to all the rain in the summer.It was a game of patience, but there were no dramas due to infections or rot.

The longer ripening period and patience paid off and great quality grapes were harvested by the end of the harvest.We are not expecting a super-ripe vintage - rather a cool-climate vintage, a real classic.And thanks to the early start to the growing season and the cool temperatures in summer, we had an incredibly long growing season that never got too hot, and the vines were always well fed, which gives us hope for a good vintage. The work was intensive and demanding, but it was worth it!"

Johannes Hasselbach, VDP.Estate Gunderloch

"We finished harvesting about three weeks ago.It started in mid-September and then took just under two weeks.Unfortunately, we were hit hard by the late frost in spring, which left us very badly shaken.In terms of quality we are very satisfied, but in terms of quantity it is a disaster.We are at 20 percent of what we could have had, which means we have to cover the entire baseline with additional purchases.If it were a normal vintage, we would be very satisfied.But we are still reasonably satisfied.There is still a lot in the barrels in the cellar from 2022 and 2023 that has not yet been filled - that will also help us."

Alexander Hey, VDP.Estate Hey

"In terms of yield, it was a smaller vintage than usual, but due to the cool and wet season we have really great aromas; we have more acidity and freshness.I really like that, especially with Riesling, but also with red wines, when there are cooler vintages.Due to the frost, we naturally have significantly lower yields, and it rained from time to time during the harvest, which is why it was a rather exhausting fall, but the bottom line is that it went by very quickly.What is now bubbling away in the cellar is fun because of the freshness that the musts have due to the acidity."

Moritz Haidle, VDP.Estate Karl Haidle