2015 will go down in the history of viticulture as hot and dry but generally a good year. As a result of a combination of high temperatures and low levels of precipitation, the water supply to the vines was at the lower limit, and the vines produced loose clusters of small grapes – ideal conditions for top quality wines.

New shoots appeared on the vines towards the end of March and beginning of April. Spring brought both a little rain and numerous days with above-average temperatures. The vines made correspondingly rapid progress, and by mid-May the first inflorescences started to blossom. In the following weeks, summer consolidated its hold and the warmest June on record for South Tyrol was followed by a July with more record temperatures and numerous nights with temperatures above 20°C. That slowed down the ripening process in the lower-level vineyards and harmonized the vegetation stages on all the sites. Irrigation measures were taken to avoid desiccation and negative effects in terms of quality. Lignification proceeded quickly and well, and the ripening of the grapes also made fast progress. Thanks to the sunny days of late summer, it was possible to start harvesting the grapes at the end of August already. The biggest challenge at this point was choosing the ideal date for the harvest to ensure that the grapes had achieved phenolic maturity and offered a good balance between sugars and acidity.