The vines of the Saale-Unstrut winemakers have only partially recovered from the drought of recent years.
Earlier this year, frost and heavy rainfall made matters worse.
This is also reflected in the harvest balance.
Freyburg - Most of the winemakers in the Saale-Unstrut growing region are finishing the grape harvest this week.
With the exception of ice wine or berry harvest, the main season will then come to an end, said Hans Albrecht Zieger, President of the Viticulture Association.
In view of initial fears, most winegrowers are "satisfied" with the harvest result.
The yield is "better than expected".
Zieger said that the omens were clouded in particular by the long periods of frost in winter.
To make matters worse, there was heavy rainfall in late summer, which harbored the risk of rot.
This has forced many winemakers to harvest earlier.
According to Zieger, the ultimate damage amounted to up to 35 percent of the vines.
The yield is well below the annual mean.
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Because of the precipitation, the vines would have developed particularly large and watery grapes.
Now the maturation process decides the quality of the wines.
“This year, the art of the cellar master is in demand,” said Zieger.
Last year the Saale-Unstrut wines were “fruity and full-bodied” in taste.
Terraced vineyards on Saale and Unstrut characterize the medieval cultural landscape, especially in the south of Saxony-Anhalt around Freyburg, Naumburg, Bad Kösen and in Thuringia around Bad Sulza.
The vineyards in Höhnstedt (Saalekreis) on the Süßen See near Eisleben (Mansfeld-Südharz district), Zeitz (Burgenlandkreis), Jessen (Wittenberg district) and on the Havel in Brandenburg also belong to the wine-growing area that is around 800 hectares today.
Saale-Unstrut is known for white and red wines such as Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Bacchus, Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris as well as Dornfelder and Portugieser.
At the same time, rarities like André are part of the variety.
In Germany, quality wine is grown in 13 regions on an area totaling around 100,000 hectares.
The largest growing areas include Rheinhessen and the Palatinate.
dpa