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2022 could go down in history as the hottest and, above all, driest year ever in eastern Austria. Springs and even lakes are also drying up in the surrounding area of Vienna. For the wines growing in the city area, the lack of rain, the heat during the day and the lack of cooling at night means less acidity. Stefan Fuchs, winemaker and chairman of the Mauer winegrowers' association in the south-west of the city, said in a television interview with ORF: "If it continues to develop like this, we will soon have conditions here like in California or southern Italy. 40 degrees Celsius and warm nights can produce really broad and boring wines with 16 per cent alcohol but no freshness or acidity." This would change the style of the wines: "There will still be Grüner Veltliner with us, but it might not taste like the Grüner Veltliner we love and appreciate."
Norbert Walter, organic winemaker and president of the Vienna Winegrowers' Association, reports drought damage in Vienna's best-known Nussberg vineyard in the north-west of the city: "Some of the leaves are already falling, only the grapes are still hanging on. Young vineyards that cannot be irrigated will probably not survive the summer. Many vintners are trying to set up irrigation systems or are using tractors to irrigate." According to experts, however, there is no danger of a water shortage for Vienna, as drinking water comes to the city via long pipes from the Alps and there has been sufficient rainfall in the mountains.
The wine harvest will start earlier than usual at the beginning of September. Stefan Fuchs explains, "We will also harvest in the early morning hours so we can process the grapes cooler." Both winegrowers agree that prices will rise due to the higher effort.
(al / Source: orf.at; Photo: OEWM WSNA)
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Current drought stress may affect 2022 and 2023 harvests