Weather conditions in 2010 were quite extreme, offering wide ranges in both temperatures and precipitation. Temperatures dropped to -25°C in January and low to moderate temperatures extended well into spring. Temperatures rose well above freezing during the month of May – finally – but the month of May was still 2°C (!) cooler than average. Blossoming began around June 15th, quite normal, but still about two weeks later than average during the last ten years. In June, temperatures rose above 25°C during the day on only 14 days and dropped to only 6,7°C on June 20th! On July 10th, temperatures finally went up to 35°C, but the stretch of warm temperatures was too short to level off the deficits of the beginning of the year. August and September turned out to be very wet, with precipitations reaching three times the average level in August (150mm rather than 56mm), resulting in early rottening of the grapes. Extensive defoilage by hand and thinning out of rotten grapes helped to preserve the remaining grapes. Harvest started on September 10th, unusually early, with Müller-Thurgau grapes, which were still physiologically unripe, but rottening had stretched out widely and did not allow to wait any longer. The rain finally ended late in September and while the sun came out, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer had enough time and fairly pleasant conditions to ripen. Yields are more than 30% down from average, resulting in a very small and limited vintage. However, the qualities of the musts and young wines are very good, with high extract levels and aroma profiles at par with the excellent 2009 vintage. Thus, at the end of the day, 2010 has been a very difficult vintage, but the qualities of the wines and their ability to age reconcile for all difficulties and will meet high expectations.

The vintage has been crowned by 600 liters of Silvaner Beerenauslese and 800 liters of Silvaner Eiswein, harvested on December 2^nd.