On 13 September 2021 I started my academic journey in viticulture at IMC University of Applied Sciences. I remember it well because, the day before, I ran the Vienna marathon and I was struggling to walk up the steep Gozzoburg hill for class the following morning. But I also recall being more nervous than I had felt in years. I kept thinking, will the students laugh at me? Will I be accepted as one of them or an outcast? It was like being 16 again. I had high school anxiety in my mid-40s and I felt really uncomfortable, but at the same time it was energizing.

Fast forward to 18 June 2024 and in a flash it’s over. Last week I successfully defended my thesis titled “Organic Banana Peel Compost as a Sustainable Source of Minerals for Young V. Vinifera”. In brief, my thesis experimentally demonstrated that solid banana peel compost can increase the availability of potassium in soil and increase vine vigor, specifically trunk thickness and shoot length, when compared to the control. Since I uploaded it on ResearchGate last week it already has 176 reads — not bad for a thesis. I hope the results give farmers and vignerons the motivation and confidence to source local fruit peel waste from any fruit and compost it for fertilizer, instead of using soil-killing mined chemical fertilizers.

I am also graduating with “distinction” based on my GPA being above 1.2, which considering my struggles with math early on, is satisfying. My next step is to apply to BOKU university to study oenology for two more years. I simply can‘t pass up advancing my knowledge for less than 500 EUR per semester.

I am also particularly proud that my classmates nominated me to give our class graduation speech yesterday during the ceremony on campus. It’s was tremendous honor.

Back in Kremsleithen

Back in the vineyard the vines are recovering nicely from the snowfall, late frost and hungry deer, from April, as the berries are rapidly maturing.

Not unsurprisingly the old Riesling vines, from the rental vineyard, will be ready for harvest probably by mid-September. I also discovered that the three vines on the sides of the tasting room are Grüner Veltliner and these are maturing rapidly with a high-yield count, which I will use in a blend with Chenin Blanc for the 2024 vintage.

Wine Tours

June also saw the launch of my new side-hustle — winery tours. To keep the Austrian finance department happy I am giving tours of small, organic wineries in the region to tourists. It’s a great way to promote the wine region and help me and my winemaking friends sell wine.

While I expected to only receive one or two gigs, I now have nine booked for the summer, from tourists visiting from France, Germany, Canada, Lithuania and the USA. My listing is on both Viator and GetYourGuide.

My first tour was last week and it was a big success, particularly because they tasted my wine and really enjoyed it. The Canadian tourist, who is a part time wine blogger and a full-time neuroscientist, described the wine as “creamy lemon, oily and brioche“, which is exactly the flavor profile I am aiming for.

We will be bottling up the 2023 vintage at the end of August and I am calling it “Alibi”. You may be thinking, “Alibi” WTF Chris! Well let me explain. As you probably know from watching too many cop dramas on TV an "Alibi" "is a defense of having been somewhere other than at the scene of a crime when the crime was committed". We didn't expect any grapes for the 2023 season from the young vines and as such I was in New York working at Paumanok Vineyards while Marie-Helene was working the harvest — which I think is a pretty good alibi, hence the name.

If you haven‘t already reserved a bottle or two, and are interested in one, go to this website and click “notify me“ and I will add your name to the reserve list. I owe plenty of bottles to all of the wonderful people who helped me and I already have two restaurants in Vienna who will be adding it to their menu, so it will be extremely limited — reserve one before it’s too late.

Enjoy the rest of summer. The next newsletter will be post-harvest and I won’t be away for it this time. 😇

Cheers,