Winemaking

Louiesenhof wines are produced with a high consciousness of nature and ecology. In the cellar the wines are merely guided – resulting in a product stamped with the distinctive character of its origin. Visit our wine tasting room to experience our wines.

PRACTICAL SIDE
· Soil analysis - all soils are charted by soil analysts.
· This involves the evaluation of the "total" soil - depth, texture, subsoil, drainage capacity, fertility, etc.
· On the basis of these analyses decisions are taken with the assistance of viticultural experts as to:
· Cultivar - always the best suited cultivar possible on a given stand to produce the highest quality wine.
· Rootstock - influences quality, crop size, vitality, disease resistance and pH tolerance.
· Planting direction - influences natural airflow and is important in case of prevailing winds.

CULTIVATION METHODS
With all the basic development correct, the emphasis shifts to everyday vineyard cultivation.
· Loosening of soils - breaks up dense underground banks which makes soils more penetrable by water and roots.
· Liming - corrects pH of soil, influences pH of wine and promotes soil microbe activity.
· Ground cover - a ground cover is sown during the winter which prevents erosion and suppresses weed growth. The following growth season the ground cover forms a layer on the soil which again suppresses weed growth and helps humus build-up in the soil, conserving rainwater.
· Cultivation - the minimum cultivation is applied.
· Fertilisation - minimum fertilisation is applied.
· Pest management - integrated pest management is applied, using agents that do not affect a wide spectrum of pests and preferably bee-friendly agents.
· Crop: Optimum crop timing is very important.

CELLAR ACTIVITIES
· Only tank presses are used for vinification.
· Fermentation takes place at controlled temperatures with genetically stable yeasts.
· Red wines are produced the traditional way.
· The fermentation completed, wines are treated very gently and cleared with natural agents.

---