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Bodenheim (dpa / lrs) - After an unusually cool April, the vines are about three weeks later in their development than last year.
"The tendency towards earlier and earlier vines and grapes will not continue this year," said Frank Schulz from the German Wine Institute in Bodenheim near Mainz.
In the six growing areas of Rhineland-Palatinate, most of the winemakers were spared frost damage - in contrast to some colleagues in Franconia, Württemberg or Baden.
"In the first week of May with night temperatures between zero and five degrees, we are three four days behind compared to the long-term average," says Ingo Steitz, President of the largest German growing region, Rheinhessen.
"My many years of experience is that nature can compensate for some things - but this time it will be difficult to catch up."
A vintage like 2018 is therefore not to be expected this year, says Steitz.
In the case of white wines, however, this could also be cheap in order to achieve the desired style of light wines with fine sophistication and an aroma shaped by the soil in the 2021.
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After the late budding, many winemakers expect that the flowering of the vines could be delayed until around mid-June.
The flowering of the vines directly influences the time of the grape harvest - the grapes are ripe approximately 100 days after flowering.
Last year, the vines sprouted as early as mid-April.
At that time, some winegrowers in the Palatinate experienced for the first time that the vines began to bloom before the chestnuts.
"This year we are back on the long-term average," said the managing director of the cooperative Weinbiet Manufaktur in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Bastian Klohr.
Thanks to the late budding, the frost damage that occurred in southern growing areas or in France could also be avoided.
"We got away with a black eye in Rhineland-Palatinate," said Schulz.
Numerous vineyards were damaged in southern Baden, up to a quarter of the area.
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Late frosts are the risk of early buds as a result of climate change, said Klohr.
Even if the plants could catch up with the delay in the vegetation when the weather is favorable, there are many indications that the grape harvest in autumn will be later this time than 2020 or 2018. For the next few weeks in May, the winemakers hope for higher temperatures over a longer period and sufficient rain in the vineyards.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210507-99-501348 / 2