Strength of character and determination, these are the two key adjectives for this 2022 harvest in Alsace. We have understood it for a while, maturity, quality, quantity, heterogeneity, the harvest will not be simple this year.
Meeting under the aegis of the Association of Winegrowers of Alsace (AVA) on August 26, the representatives of the Alsatian vineyard had set the date of the harvest at August 29 for crémant, and September 5 for still wines. However, if the date is chosen thanks to technical data, there is no obligation and each winemaker was free to give the first blows of pruning shears whenever he wanted... on derogation of course!
Another complicated year
After a catastrophic 2021 vintage for a good part of the vineyard located in central Alsace, the 2022 vintage is exceptionally early with an extraordinary heterogeneity (including within the same plot).
Nothing has been spared in the Alsatian vineyards, pointed out: the April frost which generated heterogeneous yields, the June hail which generated differences in maturity and finally the drought (water stress)... with for some areas, a superposition of the weather mentioned.
The challenge of this vintage will be to reach the desired maturities despite the heterogeneity, which will require taking samples very representative of each plot to make the most of each situation.
With such a vintage, parcel selection is essential and manual harvesting will be preferred. And this is where the last parameter that handicaps the Alsatian vineyards comes in, the lack of manpower for this campaign. Indeed, the early start of this campaign accentuates a shortage of manpower, already notable in recent years and very widely observed in many other economic fields (catering, trade, industry, etc ...).
What is remarkable about this phenomenon is that there is also heterogeneity depending on the structure, some areas have complete teams and a waiting list, while others struggle to find half of their workforce.
According to figures from the Mutualité Sociale Agricole (MSA), the drop in numbers at harvest time has been notable since 2019, a phenomenon that encourages part of the Alsatian vineyard to mechanize their harvest to the delight of service providers.
A state of affairs that is only the extension of the difficulties of the Alsatian vineyard to find qualified labor throughout the year. What about the attractiveness of an Alsatian viticulture that is certainly innovative and voluntary, but which is not sufficiently valued.
Satisfaction
The only real positive point is the state of health of the Alsatian vineyard, which is currently satisfactory. The paradox is that this state of health of the grapes is largely due to the significant heat, which has allowed a complete drying of all the diseases of the vines. A state of health that could however evolve rapidly if wet and/or rainy conditions were to persist.
2022, to watch in the cellar
2022 will be a complicated vintage, due to different cultural practices, bad weather, terroirs and the choices of each, are all parameters that prevent having a unique choice and a typical profile of harvest management.
2022 is a vintage that nevertheless promises to be promising, with a great heterogeneity that will force a large number of domains to sort. What about the guard, with the repeated heat waves, the total acidity has dropped sharply and the pH continues to increase.
If the weather does not become too rainy in the coming days, due to heterogeneity, the harvest is expected to be long and could be spread out until mid-October for some areas.
SOURCE: VineoNews Alsace
Photo Credit: VineoNews Alsace
