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2008 – A Year of Extreme Weather

As we enter harvest, let’s look at the various factors that have set the stage for this vintage and look at how it may affect the grapes and the quality of the resulting wines.

This spring was marked with heavy and frequent rainstorms, producing above average precipitation and rather cool temperatures. As a result, there was poor berry set, which, in turn, made our winemaker anticipate an even better quality. Typically, a poor fruit set means less grapes per vine which is thought to increase the intensity of flavors. Yet another hot summer followed the wet and cool spring, resulting in high temperatures that were favorable for the grapes. Considering the past summer heat, it’s no surprise that we all are expecting exceptional quality from this year’s crop.
With a rather cool September and periods of rain, we have been patient with picking the grapes in order to achieve the best wine possible. In some of our plantings we have had to delay picking in order to obtain an optimum flavor profile. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir varietals kicked off this year’s harvest at the very end of September and in early October we began picking Kékfrankos (Blaufrankisch) and Syrah. As we wait for our own vineyards to come into full production we continue to obtain grapes from local winegrowers with whom we have maintained close relations to ensure that their grapes have been cultivated in a way that meets our uncompromising superior standards of quality.
This year’s crop projects an outstanding harvest, with special regard to the Pinot Noir and Syrah.
As we work on this year’s harvest we are already looking forward to next year. In May, some of our existing vines were grafted onto new varietals with the assistance of Mexican vineyard specialists from California. The fruits of this project will be ready to sample next year and include French Pinot Noir and Chardonnay clones as well as Furmint from our existing vineyard in Nagy Eged.

Photo: Nagy Eged by Gyorgy Szanto