The original plan for this week was to publish my ‘best of’ from the Single Vineyard Summit in Kamptal, Lower Austria. In light of the very severe flooding across the whole region, it does not feel appropriate to write about the best wines or top producers. Instead, here is a brief update on the situation for growers on the ground. This is a free post for all to read.
Just a week ago, I strolled around the beautiful gardens of Grafenegg Castle on a warm September day. Winemakers in the surrounding regions of Kamptal, Kremstal, Traisental and Wagram were mid-way through harvest. Most still managed to show their faces at the Single Vineyard Summit, the massive trade tasting of top wines from the 77 members of the Traditions Weingüte (ÖTW).
Wagram-based Winemaker Martin Diwald was the first to flag up what was coming, when we met for a catch-up one evening. He joked about conditions going from heatwave to flood, and sent me this forecast a few days before the heavens opened.
As is often the case with extreme weather events, the initial forecast massively underestimated the extent of Storm Boris. In just five days, 423 litres per cubic meter fell over the area of Sankt Pölten – more than half the average annual rainfall.
By Sunday 15 September, the whole of Lower Austria had been declared a disaster zone, with countless towns, villages and communities without power and some inhabitants waiting to be airlifted to safety. The flooding has also been very serious
This Article was originally published on The Morning Claret
