2023 Wiener Gemischter Satz Nussberg

Fritz Wieninger reported a “very late budburst in late May, flowering in mid-June” and virtually no transition from winter to summer, which felt like missing out on spring. “We had great weather until July when it became rather dry. Towards August, the weather relaxed and cooled, which meant relief from dry stress,” he said. But then hail struck: “There were just a few areas on the Bisamberg that were not affected, but vineyards in Nussberg, Grinzing and all the way to Neustift were. We have never had such extensive hail before, not in my lifetime or that of my father,” he recalled. “This was a new situation for us, and we did not quite know how to handle this. We waited, and then, thank heavens, we got another summer month in September, which was more beautiful than August, with warm, sunny days and cool nights. This means the hail damage of the affected grapes did not lead to rot but reduced the yields – so we got away relatively unscathed.” Yields are down by 15-20% in 2023. Wieninger noted that it was the brilliant September weather that made all the difference in what otherwise could have been a rather middling vintage.