German winegrowers struggle to protect vines in heatwave

German winegrowers are trying to protect vines with straw, drip irrigation and soil management as prolonged hot, dry weather puts pressure on harvests and water supplies.

At a six-hectare vineyard in Spay above the Rhine, Florian Weingart has covered about a third of the site with straw to keep moisture in the soil. He said he moved 1,000 small straw bales over four weeks and warned that “the harvest is hanging by a thread.”

Weingart, 53, grows mostly Riesling and some Spaetburgunder. He said a drip irrigation system installed in 2013 now covers 1.85 hectares and is vital for young vines because their roots are less deep.

He expects his harvest in September, typical for recent years but earlier than the October harvests of the past. He said production at his vineyard has fallen to about 5,000 litres, enough for around 40,000 bottles, from about 6,000 litres previously, and warned that the crop could be poor without substantial rain.

The German Wine Institute said some growers elsewhere in Germany began harvesting in the second week of August, which it called exceptionally early. Spokesman Ernst Buescher said vineyards are “easily a good four weeks ahead” of where they were 30 or 40 years ago.

Warmer conditions have allowed German growers to try grape varieties suited to higher temperatures and cultivate vines in new areas, but longer and more frequent hot, dry spells are making irrigation and yields harder to manage.