12 September 2024 / Szabó Edit
Szentpéteri Winery, Kunság wine district
The Szentpéteri Winery, based in Kiskőrös, is famous for already having their new rosé available at the Budapest Wine Festival, which starts in mid-September. So it's not uncommon for them to have an early harvest, but this year's haste took even them by surprise. "We have never had a vintage like this! We harvested our Kékfrankos a day or two after 20 August, even though we are talking about a late-September variety, and we have already bottled our Nero rosé. We have 70-80% of our grapes in the cellar, with only the late harvest Generosa, the two Cabernets and the Merlot still on the vines," recounts Attila Szentpéteri, who believes that a winemaker who has taught his vines to struggle is lucky in this case. Those who have irrigated and fertilised must be worried, because the pampered plants have tolerated this year's drought badly. But the early, fast-paced harvest is also putting people in a difficult position: "We're happy to work, we're not complaining, but this situation has put winemakers to the test. However, I'm happy that although we have 15-20% fewer grapes this year, fruit quality is very good and we can make lovely wines from the 2024 vintage," said the winemaker, who became a grandfather during this year’s harvest: his grandson Vincent was born on 27 August. "Of course, it is important for me that the grapes are lovely, and the harvest goes well, but my real joy is when my children are happy," concludes Attila Szentpéteri, and he is already running off to the cellar, because the next consignment of grapes has arrived.
Nero harvest in Szentpéter
Szőke Mátyás and Zoltán Winery, Mátra wine district
“I was only able to answer the phone because the harvester has broken down, otherwise there is no way I could answer anyone's calls,” says Matyi, grandson of legendary Mátra winemaker Mátyás Szőke. He took over the estate after his grandfather's death, and since they also do contract work with their harvester, they have not had a moment off since 12 August. "In the last ten years, we have never had a harvest before 20 August, and now we started to pick the Irsai Olivér almost two weeks earlier. And it's not so much that the Irsai is ripe, but that most of the grapes are ready to be harvested. Besides the Irsai and Muscat Ottonel, the Sárgamuskotály is already in the cellar, as are the grapes for the Pintmeister Rosé, the Portugieser and the Blauburger. In early September, we’ll start with the Riesling, which is an extremely early harvest for this variety,” Matyi informs me about the current situation. During our brief conversation, I also learn that the year has not been easy from the point of view of plant protection, as they struggled a lot with powdery mildew, but fortunately all the grapes ripened with a good must grade and, exceptionally, acidity was good, which really means something in the Mátra. However, the quantity is still about 10% lower than last year, although that was already below the long-term average. “This prolonged heat is not good for the vines, as the plant is concentrating on survival, the berries begin to shrivel fast, so we have to be smart. In the long term, this heatwave is bad not only for the plants, but also for people and machinery. We're looking forward to a bit of respite."
Mátra, Gyöngyöstarján
Folly Arborétum and Winery, Badacsony wine district
Leopold Nagy has been working at Folly Arboretum for 13 years and is responsible for the 12 hectares of vineyards and the winery's wines. He said that this year has been rather unfavourable in terms of rainfall, with only 2 mm in July and 3-4 mm in August, and the drought has hit the young vines hard. The older vines have already sent their roots deeper, so they have easier access to moisture and therefore better chances of survival. This year's vintage has taught them that it's not necessarily good to leave the vineyards full of weeds, as the weeds suck moisture and nutrients away from the vines. Harvesting started in the Folly Arboretum vineyards during the week of 20 August, and a third of the harvest is already in the cellar. "We carry out trial harvests on a daily basis, measuring the parameters to find the optimal harvest date. The berries are nice and ripe, but this year there will be no razor-sharp acidity, that's clear to see. The quantity is 25-30% lower than last year, but fruit quality is very good. You can already taste in the must that the wines will show Badacsony’s typical minerality,” said the winemaker. In the next few weeks, they will have to ensure that what is still on the vines is harvested in time, and the berries do not overripen. This requires some serious logistics, because pretty much everything ripens at the same time. Harvesting of the Olaszrizling will begin in the first week of September, which is also unusually early, and if all goes according to plan, the harvest season will be over by the beginning of October – almost four weeks earlier than last year. "However, we are leaving the grapes on the vine on half a hectare of Riesling, as we want to make ice wine from them. This will be a novelty this year, we have never even made a late harvest before, and we are looking forward to the autumn-winter period with great excitement," says Leopold Nagy.
Badacsony, Folly Arborétum
Csetvei Winery, Mór wine district
Krisztina Csetvei, winemaker at the Csetvei Winery in Mór, hardly knows what day it is. The grapes are ripening in their vineyards in Mór and Somló at about the same time, and unlike usual, they are harvesting every day, not every other day, which has never happened in the last 13 years. "It's very hot, but fortunately the must grades have not shot up, we measured almost everything around 20 must grades. The Pinot Gris and the Traminer are a bit soft, but the rest of the grapes are keeping their acidity, but even though there is a little more fruit than last year, there is about 15% less juice in the berries," says Kriszti, who also tells me that none of this would be possible without the help of family and friends. They don't work with early ripening varieties, yet they started harvesting about three weeks earlier than usual, on 23 August. Everyone is suffering from the heat, of course, and the only way to increase efficiency is to double the number of people. By the way, Kriszti thinks that this year's vintage will be better than last year's, control of fungal diseases was effective, and the grapes are beautiful and healthy. Most of the problems are caused by sunburn, even though they no longer de-leaf the fruiting zone. "I consider this year's harvest very promising, several of our wines are already macerating on their skins, and this year we are also making orange wine from the Juhfark. Since almost everything has ripened, it's not the grapes that decide what we pick, but the logistics. We have five temperature-controlled tanks in the cellar, in which we settle the must - I thank my father for making this possible, because without them we would now be in trouble. There are many problems, we are struggling with the elements and the parameters, but we need one last spurt and we will have finished the harvest by the end of the first week of September. This is unprecedented in the history of the Csetvei winery!"
Mór, Csetvei Cellar
Kőfejtő Cellar, Somló wine district
"Harvesting is proceeding at a rapid pace in the Somló wine district, half the harvest is already in the cellar almost everywhere, and by the end of the first week of September almost all grapes will have reached the stage of ripeness needed to make a typical Somló dry wine," Péter Töth gives a quick update. The owner and winemaker of the Kőfejtő Cellar remembers that the harvest started similarly early in 2018, but the wines produced were harmonious and clean, so he is not worried about this year either. The difficulty is that many people are still on their summer holidays, it is not easy to recruit workers, and we need a lot of hard-working hands, because in the Somló wine district almost everything is still harvested by hand. "The quality of the harvest changes quickly, so you have to be out in the vineyard all the time, tasting, measuring and making the necessary decisions. The Juhfark, for example, can go from unripe to optimal and then overripe in a week, and if the grapes are overripe, the wine will lack harmony," Péter explains. The Kőfejtő Cellar switched to organic farming in 2015, and now they find that those who started their canopy management early and paid attention to their vines throughout the year are harvesting beautiful fruit. "There are no rules here, you simply have to feel the dynamics of nature and its changes, and work accordingly. It's not easy, but for me that's one of the beauties of the profession," says the winemaker.
Somló Castle
As in other wine regions, Somló has not been spared by the drought, so growers there are expecting 10-15% less must. The grapes are wonderful, but the Juhfark and the Furmint are shrivelling fast: if the weather stays like this, the fruit will also be harvested for late harvest wine at the end of September. "I think it's a good tactic to always prepare for the worst, because then you don't get any unpleasant surprises. The vine is a very hardy plant, and if its nutrient balance is right, it can tolerate even these extreme conditions. My vines have healthy, lush foliage, so the plant is storing plenty of nutrients and the crop is developing nicely even during these hot days."
So the growers are confident and are doing their best to ensure that they can make delicious, memorable wines from this year’s vintage too. We wish you all lovely weather and a good vintage!
