The 2022 wine year

This year's harvest went so well, and we are very pleased with the quantity cellared as well as the excellent quality of the grapes. The pressing process went as desired and the young wines are already presenting themselves as accessible and aromatic. We are happy that we will be presenting the first wines of the 2022 vintage in just a few months!

Looking back on the wine year, we remember a dry and rather cool spring with a late budbreak. From May on, it was sunny and warm, with some weeks even almost unbearably hot. Rain was missing – in general, precipitation was almost absent in the first half of the year – we were at 50% of the average value of the last 30 years by the end of June.

To protect the vines from great drought stress, which might be found in a wine’s aroma, we had to water regularly during the summer. We are glad to have invested in drip irrigation systems, because in addition to precise watering, we also save water, up to 30% in contrast to outdated sprinkler systems.

At the beginning of August we took the first sampling of the berries and were a bit shocked ourselves when we decided to harvest the Gamay as early as 20 August. The vine parcel in Fully is now over 40 years old, the vines were planted using the goblet system, low-set single vines that were part of a traditional cultivation and it is one of the last parcels that has no irrigation system.
The situation was somewhat different in Leuk, where, depending on the slope, the berries’ ripening process was interrupted by the drought, so that we could harvest the first Pinots only on 3 September.

All in all, it was the earliest harvest start we have experienced so far. What starts early also ends early, so we harvested our Heida in Visperterminen 6 October, thus concluding the 2022 wine year. In other years, the end of the harvest did not take place until November.

In 2023, we celebrate 10 years of Vin d'oeuvre !

In addition to the usual tastings that we organize throughout the year, this year we are adding a few unusual events: In April, the concert "La Dégustation" with Eliane Amherd including a wine tasting from various Valais wineries will take place at the Restaurant Schöngrün in Berne. We call it : Enjoy wines of Valais with all your senses. Ears, eyes and palate will not miss out on that evening!
During the open cellars doors over the Ascension weekend, the Giro d'Italia also cycles through the region. This is an absolute must for cycling and wine fans and no reason to panic for everyone else: Because by using public transport and after having finished the tasting in our winery, you can easily walk from Leuk through the vineyards to Varen and Salgesch for further cellar visits!
In June, we will be in Emmental at Moosegg, where Daniel Lehmann (16 Gault Millau) and his team will spoil us with their culinary skills.

From August 25 to 27, we will organize the BIG wine weekend, where there will be entertaining and amusing events on the topic of wine and vines in Leuk and the region, of course in our usual style, where gustatory pleasure comes first! These modules are ideal for wine beginners as well as for wine connoisseurs, as we love to share new aspects and different insights into the universe of wine.

Awards and mentions