Adapting to the climate from year to year
is a balancing act
In January and February, when pruning begins, the wine-year is still quiet. Perhaps it is cold enough and it is snowing, the vines are covered by a white blanket, so that the winegrower can stop working in the vines for a few days. That happens less and less often. Instead, we nowadays often prune the vines in a T-shirt. February this year was very mild and spring-like, which encouraged the vines to wake up early from hibernation. In April, we struggled to keep young, long shoots alive against the frost. We burnt candles for several nights in our region to protect the tender greenery from the cold. The fear of losing the harvest and a lack of sleep were our constant companions. It then took over three weeks for the vines to recover from the cold and continue growing. Fortunately, the damage caused by the frost was minimal.
From the end of April to mid-July, it rained more often than on the average. The persistent rain and the rather cooler temperatures around the time of flowering resulted in various grapes being trickled. Disease pressure is particularly high this year, so we have to protect the vines much more often than in normal years. We have learned the hard way in 2021 and are currently very vigilant.
Launch of our Chardonnay vintage 2021
What would you say if you worked 100% but were only paid 50%?
Farmers around the world are facing this fact as climate conditions change. Will the harvest be good? Will the weather and new pests destroy part of the harvest or possibly all of it? Will everything turn out well?
In the event of a poor harvest, are you allowed to mark up your prices accordingly or are you scaring away your customers? As a customer, do you think it’s scandalous or is a price mark-up economically justified? And are you prepared to pay a fair price?
With our Chardonnay 2021, we want to sensitize our customers to the price changes and the enormous adaptability caused by climate change, which is part of everyday life in agriculture today.
The Chardonnay is available in our webshop and only in Switzerland.
Usually during harvest, we pick out the bad grapes, but in the Chardonnay we only picked the good ones. Downy mildew on grapes.
Of course, this project is an isolated case, a kind of experiment, and we are very happy to get to know your reactions. Anyone who would like to is welcome to write us. For all other wines, the prices will of course remain the same for the time being.
24 female Swiss winemakers united in one advent calendar
The first half of the year is over and so once again we are rapidly approaching the end of the year, which always brings Christmas to mind - every year!
This brings us to the subject of gifts, as the female group of independent winegrowers, known as les Artisanes du Vin, are launching an advent calendar this year in collaboration with Clos de l'Avent with a 1 glass of wine for each calendar day before Christmas. This is the perfect way to discover the diversity of female Swiss wines producers by the glass! You can order the calendar directly here (and only in Switzerland).
Upcoming Events
August 16
Jazz & Wine
Champéry (VS)
December 7
Wine & Dine
CaSy, Crans-Montana