With the end of the 2024 grape harvest, calm returns to the vineyards and we look back on intensive weeks and months. At the end there is a particularly small but valuable harvest.

A look back at spring:

Dominik remembers: "On the night of April 20th to 21st, frost was reported in the Ruwer Valley. At first, this didn't seem unusual, as we were familiar with isolated frost from previous vintages. But what we realized two days later was a jet frost that had hit our vineyards across the board." 

Our former cellar master Ludwig adds: "I have never experienced frost damage of this magnitude in my time at Karthäuserhof. I am glad that I did not have to be in Dominik's shoes." But nature showed its resilience and the vines sprouted again - albeit with a significantly reduced yield. The result is a small, valuable harvest that reflects the uniqueness of the vintage.

Despite the setback, we started our favorite time of the year in a special way: 30 restaurateurs from Trier and Cologne visited us at the Karthäuserhof. In brilliant autumn weather, we experienced the start of the 2024 harvest together in our monopol vineyard, Karthäuserhofberg.

Our operations manager Dominik Völk explained what is important during the harvest: When have the grapes reached their optimal physiological maturity? What challenges does the current 2024 vintage bring with it? What exactly are the inimitable characteristics of the terroir in the Ruwer Valley?

After a champagne reception with our Karthäuserhof BRUT in the picturesque setting of our steep slopes in Eitelsbach, our guests returned in a covered wagon accompanied by our BRUNO wines. Once at the winery, there was a tour through the history of the eighth oldest winery in the world with a small tasting before moving on to the more relaxed part of the day: dinner in our wine press hall.