Many people have a very romantic image in their heads when they think of winemakers and their everyday work. Our image is shaped by the autumn grape harvest in golden sunshine and the cozy pressing in the rustic wine cellar.

However, this idea is a little off the mark, because the everyday life of a winemaker is much more varied and is one thing above all throughout the year: guaranteed not to be boring. But what does a winemaker do all year round? Come with us on a journey into the typical everyday life of a winemaker.

Table of contents

Winemakers learn something new every day

Working in winter

Work in summer

The end of the season

Summary

Vocabulary list

Common saying:

"Winemakers are like priests: they know everything, but can never use it because the person up there always has other plans."

Winemakers often have to undergo further training to learn new production methods or soil cultivation. But despite all the expertise they have gained, winegrowers must always be prepared for the whims of nature and act spontaneously accordingly.

The motto "in winter you shall rest" does not apply at all to the winemaker. Rather, his working year begins right here, by laying the foundations for the upcoming season. While traditional farmers are busy with office work during the cold season, the winemaker spends a lot of time in the vineyard. This is where the vines are pruned.

However, this does not only serve to shape the vines. Rather, pruning strengthens the vines and protects them from bitter winter frost. At the same time, by pruning the vines, the winegrower is already setting the course for the year's yield.

This is achieved by carefully shortening the shoots, whereby the worn-out branches are cut back to two buds each. New shoots then form from the buds in the spring. The winemaker also removes wild growth and ties fruit branches to the wire frame of the vineyard. And all of this is done by hand.

In parallel to the pruning of the vines, which often takes up parts of February depending on the weather and the area, there is also a lot of office work. Here everything revolves around the organization of the harvest and sales. It doesn't get boring in the cellar in winter either. After all, he is already bottling the first young wines from the previous harvest here.

Learn more?

In this video you will be explained clearly and understandably how to prune a grapevine correctly.

Don't be surprised: a lot of the vine is always cut away. This is the only way the best grapes can ripen properly.

As soon as nature awakens in the vineyard, the winemaker swaps organizational tasks and marketing for manual work. From March onwards, for example, the soil is loosened and fertilized. While these tasks are carried out exclusively by hand on steep slopes at dizzying heights, winemakers in the lowlands can rely on the help of machines.

Many winegrowers spend a lot of time at this time of year mixing their own herbal fertilizer mixtures and spreading them in the vineyard at the foot of the vines. The secret here lies in knowing which plants and herbs bring as much nitrogen as possible into the soil, which is essential for the growth of the vines. At the same time, passive pest control takes place, especially since various fertilizer herbs attract beneficial organisms such as parasitic wasps. The latter kill off pests such as aphids.

But care also takes up a large part of the daily routine of the winegrower in spring. This mainly involves cutting back unwanted shoots. Between May and August, mowing and pruning are on the agenda. Whether this is done by hand using a brush cutter or more relaxed with a tractor, this again depends on the nature of the vineyard.

Did you know?

Due to climate change, winegrowers are also having to deal with increasing drought and the emergence of new pests. This means that they have to spend a significant amount of their time securing their yields through new care methods and more resistant grape varieties.

The fact that the winemaking profession is so exciting is not only due to the variety of activities. It is also the fact that the results of thousands of hours are only fully visible after a year - and are often surprising despite planning and expertise. Depending on the region, the grape harvest begins as early as August and usually lasts until October.

First, it is the turn of "early grape varieties" such as Müller-Thurgau. Later, Silvaner, Burgundy and finally Lemberger and Riesling follow. Muscle power and countless helping hands are needed during this strenuous time.

Especially on steep slopes, separating the cones from the vines is still a manual task. Mechanical harvesting is only possible in suitable vineyards, such as in the Palatinate. Once the grapes have been loaded after the harvest, the winemaker takes them to the winery, where the actual work in the cellar begins.

This also consists of a wide variety of activities, with the steps of winemaking differing significantly depending on the type of wine. Roughly summarized, the daily routine of the winemaker after the harvest consists of:

1. Separate, sort and clean berries
2. Pressing or pressing
3. Control of the fermentation process
4. Fining of the wine e.g. by filtration
5. Transferring to wooden barrels
6. Maturation (possibly for several years)
7. Tasting & Documentation
8. Bottling

Good to know:

The work in the cellar is not always carried out by the winemaker alone, but often also by the cellar master. But not every winemaker employs a cellar master.