People get in a twist with the seasons and the solstices and the equinoxes. If we carve the year into four seasons of three months each, then Spring starts on the first of March and runs through April and May.
In the Alsace vineyards the last of the pruning takes place, especially with the younger vines. If serious field work has gone on, then the soil that was ploughed over the the vine feet for winter protection, is now moved back off to allow the soil to aerate and heat up.
Bud break usually happens towards the end of March. Then the first leaves start appearing in April. The main page banner photo and photo below, were taken in late April last year. These are vines near Andlau with 3-4 leaves already nicely developed.
And as temperatures move up in the cellar, the gentle bubbling of fermentation can kick in with the wines that didn’t ferment through to dry before winter.
With Spring comes news of the Alsace Natural Wine salons. The kind of wines, producers and attitudes we are close to. First out the gate is the VertigVineux mini-fair, scheduled for the 13th and 14th of April in Ostheim. Next we hear that the Vins Libérés group are setting a date for the second edition of the Summer Fascht, this is for sometime in July. You can check out our report of edition one which was held in 2017 here. To keep the good news coming, the organising group behind the Brute(es) salon, have set the dates to hold edition two on the 2nd and 3rd of November, web site here.
We reported on the 2018 Vins Libres salon and the inaugural Brut(es) salon, right here for some background and a bunch of cool photos.
All good signs that the Alsace natural wine community is alive and kicking.
