The Pfalz is known throughout Germany as being a region wild mild winters and beautiful summers. The perfect weather brought the Romans, who built their trademark baths - some of which are still in use today - and later brought the tourists who were looking for a way to escape the harsh weather in other parts of Germany. Great weather has always been a hallmark of this wine making region that hugs the shores of the Rhine river, so much so that the locals call it “Toskana Deutschland”, or German Tuscany.

The recent weather, however, has truly made it feel a bit like Italy in our little wine valley. This past winter was the warmest on record, with no snow and very mild days and nights. It almost felt as spring never came because there wasn’t the usual break in the German winter that heralds the arrival of spring. Instead, the mild weather just became slightly warmer, and the vines simply decided to begin the growing season early.

The season began three weeks early, which caused a bit of concern here, because if a cold front came through, it could severely damage the young shoots that were forming on the vines. The cold front never came, however, and the warm weather continued throughout the spring. Thankfully, the summer, has been quite pleasant and there has not been and torrid heat waves to stress the vines.

So what does this mean for the 2007 wines? Well, it is still too early to predict, but if the weather continues to remain as mild and beautiful as it has been, we could be in for another record-breaking year. We’ll keep you up to date as the harvest progresses…