Many private winemakers were already harvesting their grapes by the end of August, something that has never happened before on the Luxembourg Moselle. One can clearly see that it is getting earlier and earlier, said Jeff Konsbrück, the new president of the Independent Winegrowers' Association to RTL. He used to head out to harvest in the middle of September. In more recent years, it has been drifting steadily towards the start of September. Back when his father was still planting the vineyards and delivering the grapes, the harvest always used to begin around 20 September, in other words after the Riesling Open. That festival, he pointed out, now falls right in the middle of the harvest.
The 2026 vintage promises excellent quality, Konsbrück added. You can tell from the sweetness of the grapes and from the analytical data too, he said, both the pH value and the balance between malic and tartaric acidity, which is optimal at roughly one third to two thirds. When the harvest starts a little later, the malic acidity tends to be higher, something one can also pick up on in the glass.
Ten days into the harvest, the private winemakers are looking on with real confidence towards the end of the season, which should wrap up around 17 September this year.
The winemakers of the Vinsmoselle cooperative started work in the vineyards on 3 September. The situation is essentially as expected, said Vinsmoselle president Josy Gloden. The heatwave has left conditions extremely dry, meaning the harvest will already come in well down, with losses of 30% to 40%. The grapes carry less juice, are less compact and less plump.
Due to the heat, however, sugar levels in the grapes are very high this year. The dry summer, Gloden added in his RTL interview, also meant disease pressure was very low.
The last time the harvest started so early was in 2003, when the cooperative's winemakers had also gone into the vineyards on 3 September. In recent years, work has generally begun between 10 and 15 September, Gloden pointed out. Twenty or thirty years ago, harvesting only started after 20 September, and in some cases the vines were only picked at the very end of the month.
