Early harvest for Luxembourg wine growers

While we might not find a sunny dry spring and a cold and wet July to our taste, it certainly hasn't hurt Luxembourg wine, on the contrary in fact!

Due the the “excellent” weather for wine growers, the grape harvest date has been brought forward for this year.

While farmers complain about high crop losses due to the climate, Moselle wine growers seem more than satisfied. Lots of sun in spring meant vines bloomed early, then the rain in recent weeks offset the dry spell.

In the opinion of viticulture consultant Serge Fischer from the Institute viti-vinicole in Remich, prospects for wine this year are good: "We had a warm spring, so the vines bloomed much earlier than usual, now the grapes are maturing quicker giving us a margin of two weeks, that means that harvest can begin on September 12”.

A good vintage for 2011

Despite the unusually dry weather from March until June, this has also hurt young vines as their roots do not go deep enough to provide the plant with sufficient water. This means there will be crop failure but within limits, says Serge Fischer. He estimates that for this year, wine production will reach 130,000 hectoliters. The long-term average is 140,000 hectoliters.

Wine growers, or vintners, along the Moselle are now hoping that the rain subsides and the last weeks before harvest are sunny and dry. If this happens nothing can stand in the way of 2011 being an excellent vintage.