CELLER. DOING MORE WITH LESS.

Markus Hüls lays highest attention on a natural vineyard work under controlled environmentally friendly directives. The goal is to create a natural environment in which the vine is able to produce a perfect healthy grape quality. Only what the vine can produce in interaction of vineyard, vintage and microclimate in the grapes, allows a complex flavor spectrum in the later produced wines.

Quality management starts already with the selection of the right vine genetic used for the recultivation of old vineyard sites. Especially selected vine populations, grafted onto extremely slow-growing rootstocks, are planted. These vines grow so slow that the first yield can't to be expected untill the fifth year after planting. The aim of this far-sighted action is a permanent low yield on the vine in the most natural way possible.

Pruning in spring is also focused on yield reduction and consequent canopy management throughout the vegetation period of the vine are yet other fundamentals for the complex, regionally typical Moselle wines from Markus Hüls. After shooting excessive buds are errupted and unnecessary leaves within the grape zone removed to provide better ventilation and an optimal leaf to fruit ratio.

Furthermore, the vineyards are supplied with organic material such as humus and straw several times each year. This action serves soil improvement and enhancement of water-holding capacity of the vineyards. Another positive aspect of this measure: it creates habitat for beneficial insects such as lady bugs and ground beetles, lacewings or parasitic wasps - our way of Pest Control! Goal of all these actions is to revitalize the vineyards on the long run, because only in a healthy and active environment the vine is able to create grapes of the highest quality.

Not until the grapes have reached their full physiological maturity the harvest is tackled. This decision is made by Markus Hüls for each vineyard individually by tasting the ripeness of the grapes repeatedly throughout  the harvest period. Only when the grape seed maturation is completed (seeds have fully turned brown) and the aroma spectrum of the grape has fully developed the selective hand-picking of the different vineyard sites starts at Markus Hüls.