Thursday, 13 November, 2025
The Drinks Business, Arabella Mileham
The official harvest report from the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP) noted that the 2025 growing season started well with vigorous growth (and no late spring frost) followed by a warm summer with sunny spells. Locally wet weeks in July however demanded careful canopy work and very close monitoring of grape health, only to be followed by long dry periods that helped bring on an early harvest – as early as August for some estates.
As a result of the short weather windows, “the harvest pace was high and decisions had to be spot on: parcel by parcel, variety by variety, with an eye to aromatics, acid balance and structure.”
“Precision, perfect timing and many hands in the vineyard” was key and those who did so, “succeeded in bringing grapes into the cellar at very good physiological ripeness”, yet retained “an invigorating acidity”, the VDP said.
Click HERE to read the full article.