Dear wine customers,
I have finally found time to write to you. The reason for the late publication of our spring newsletter is serious: On December 22, 2021, our house burned down completely. No one was injured, that is the most important thing! But of course, all the things that a family has in their home were burned.
It is hard to imagine the tremendous help we received after this disaster: many people from Guntersblum brought Christmas presents for our children to my in-laws in town. A huge and unexpected gift for them.
And we have received generous donations in kind and money from our acquaintances, friends, customers and relatives. The impressive solidarity of so many people has made the loss of the home more bearable for us. A big thank you to everyone who helped, especially to those who we are only reaching with this newsletter.
Fighting climate change with fungus-resistant grape varieties
Of course, the vines continued to grow during this time and the wine in the barrels also had to be cared for. Some vines are about to undergo a generational change: we have uprooted the 30-year-old Huxel vines and will plant the fungus-resistant (so-called PIWI) Muscaris grape variety next year. I am very excited to see how this grape variety develops, whether the wine tastes good and how you will like it. For me, these new grape varieties are wines of the future, because they will make it possible to work almost without pesticides in the future. According to my observations, climate change here in Rheinhessen is mainly reflected in more changeable weather, which means an enormously high infection pressure for our European vines, which can only be controlled with a lot of plant protection and is therefore highly questionable in terms of sustainability. Our PIWI grape varieties Johanniter and Cabernet Sauvignon have shown me that there are very good alternatives that also provide joy and enjoyment in the glass.
Enjoy spring in a glass
Our 2021s have benefited greatly from the two months of extra storage. The 2021 vintage was more "spoiled" by rain than by sun and the acidity in the must was still quite inharmonious. But in the young wine it has now harmonized very nicely - but why not see for yourself?
We have freshly bottled our Chardonnay , which has matured in a new half barrel (630 liters) to a very fine wine with a subtle melt. The very scarce this year Merlot Rosé was our first choice when we were able to spend the first warm days of March on our small emergency balcony. Finally, the two versions of our Johanniters available again: The one from the stainless steel barrel is light and fruity, while its brother was pressed in a wooden press and then matured in the wooden barrel to become a flatterer with natural residual sweetness. We invite you to discover our first 2021s with this spring freshness package:
Order the spring freshness package!
3 bottles
2021 Chardonnay
dry, QbA, Demeter
3 bottles
2021 Merlot Rosé
dry, QbA, Demeter
3 bottles
2021 Johanniter Holzkelter
semi-dry, QbA, Demeter
3 bottles
2021 Johanniter Stainless Steel
semi-dry, QbA, Demeter
12 bottles of 0.75 l each
With warm greetings from Guntersblum
Stéphanie and Johann Schnell with Marie, Lilo and Luc
