“For the red Pinot grapes, a selective hand harvest is absolutely essential.”

Our red Pinot Noir wines, known in German as Spätburgunder, demand a selective hand harvest. This should come as no surprise; all grapes are harvested at Schlossgut Diel this same way. Each harvest involves multiple selective passes to find only the best and most perfectly ripe grapes, which are then destemmed by hand. This especially gentle process involves agitating the grapes across a screen to separate the berries from their stems. To preserve more freshness, the Diel Pinots are vinified together with 25% whole clusters (i.e. with stems). Once the yeast has multiplied as desired, the stomping (known as pigeage) follows—at least once per day by foot to keep fermentation homogeneous and oxidation-free.