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AGRICULTURE VITICULTURE

GOOD REASON TO LAUGHKlaus Rummel has been producing organic wine since 1987. He has since secured a firm place on the German organic vintner scene. He harvests dozens of tons of grapes on his 16-hectare estate in good years – enough for around 90,000 liters of wine

LANDWIRTSCHAFT WEINBAU

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THE ORGANIC PIONEERS

Some vintners suspected it decades ago: Top wines can also be produced organically! This vineyard in the Southern Palatinate

region has been setting the trend ever since.

TEXT BJÖRN WÖLKE   PHOTOS PATRICK OHLIGSCHLÄGER

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he average native of the Palati-nate region, in simplistic terms, is consid-ered good-natured, cheerful, and chatty. In highly generalized terms, the Palatinate vintner, meanwhile, is seen as innovative, adventurous, and inquisitive, with a rus-tic character and pithy sayings; a person who is bursting with ambition, given the location of his vineyard, which is positive-ly spoiled by the climate. Under these con-ditions – and perhaps exaggerating some-what – the Palatinate winegrower Klaus Rummel can be described as something of a mixture. He not only meets all of the aforementioned criteria, but even surpass-es them – sometimes effortlessly. Perhaps he can be regarded as a stroke of good for-tune – for Germany’s vintner communi-ty and for wine lovers all over the world. Rummel is pretty much the enfant terri-ble of the wine region in the southeastern-most tip of the Palatinate. He is a skilled winegrower, who started back in 1979 at the age of 16 under the watchful eye of his father, quickly acquired his own style,

and has been committed to organic viti-culture since 1987, rising to the top of the German organic vintner scene over the decades. He even has a greening mixture for organic farming named after him. This outlaw vine anarchist sometimes lives by his own rules, with around 16 hectares of grapevines (production in 2018: more than 120,000 bottles; 50% white, 50% red). For centuries, the Rummels were just simple farmers in Nußdorf, a com-munity of 1,500 souls, located around a 30-minute drive from Karlsruhe on the idyllic wine route. Klaus Rummel is now the third generation to run the business; his oldest son Karl is already in the start-ing blocks. “Our family is actually pro-foundly boring,” laughs Klaus Rummel. “We have always been winegrowers; even my wife comes from a family of vintners!”

MORE ROBUSTA team of fifteen people still select the grapes by hand. The batches can be demanding and the selection process is often as strict as that used by some elite universities to select their students. The Rummels not only celebrate viticulture,

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AGRICULTURE VITICULTURE

but also experiment with new grape vari-eties. One of their most recent achieve-ments is Sauvignac, which is thanks to Valentin Blattner, a friendly Swiss grape winegrower. You can taste the results. The 2018 California dry is a young white wine, still a little reserved, yet with a complex taste: green mini bananas skip across the palate, accompanied by peach and floral notes. The cross between a Sauvignon Blanc and a Resistenzpart-ner has a multi-genetic makeup, which makes it more robust at resisting harm-ful fungi such as Peronospora, the downy mildew. “We have to deal with a grow-ing number of more invasive species as a result of climate change,” says Klaus

Rummel. Current enemy number one is the Asian spotted-wing drosophila, which experts call Drosophila suzukii. The adventive insect from the Far East is giving both fruit farmers and vint-ners a headache. Rummel is also find-ing the fly a challenge. While the native species of this fruit fly only infest fallen fruit with damaged skin, the new pest prefers intact fruit, piercing the skin and laying its eggs inside. This also goes for red wine grapes. “We have been seeing a huge amount of this species since around 2014. The beast is incredibly stubborn,” says Klaus Rummel. Early defoliation of the fruit zone primarily helps to combat it, because Drosophila suzukii doesn’t

like the sun. The higher the surface tem-perature, the more difficult its life gets.

Grapevines, on the other hand, love the heat. It is safe to say that wine is a winner when it comes to climate change. Problems with unripe grapes are a thing of the past in Germany, but there are new challenges, including considerable weather fluctua-tions, hailstorms, and extended dry peri-ods. “We struggle with the drought, which is why we are simply reversing things that used to be considered standard in viticul-ture,” says Karl Rummel. The 26-year-old son of Klaus Rummel, a trained viticul-ture engineer, is set to take over the fate of the estate at some point. In the mean-time, he is also responsible for the strategy

VITICULTURE is a demanding job, which is why there are machines that help with the work. Yet even they sometimes reach their limits, not least …

ALCOHOL INTERLOCK If the alcohol limit is exceeded, the tractor’s engine is blocked

HOW CLIMATE CHANGE ALTERS THE WINE

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in the wine cellar and cites one example: “Instead of going to a great deal of trouble just to get the grapes as sweet as possible, it is now more about assessing them on the basis of other criteria – and making them ripen later if necessary.” There are differ-ent ways of doing this. For instance, the grapevines can be cut in a way that delays the ripening period.

PATIENCE AND BRAWNWith the higher average temperatures in Germany, it is now possible to grow grape varieties that are usually only seen in more southern climes, such as Caber-net Sauvignon. “The water shortage will probably be one of our biggest problems in the future,” says Klaus Rummel. “For this reason alone, we must rethink how we protect our resources and give the grapevines more chance to survive the dry summers.” His eyes light up on the

subject of protecting resources – or hab-itat management, as he likes to call it. Rummel carefully tends to his soil. The wild greenery around the grapevines and the numerous insect hotels on the estate are part of it. One declaration of intent follows another in some places, but Rum-mel has been getting down to business for three decades. He has provided cap-ital for natural spaces and invested his money, patience, and brawn in mono-cultures so that he can work in harmo-ny with nature. His maxim is biodiver-sity – not on account of any ideology, but because he sees it as the only way in which wine will remain economical-ly viable in the future. There is also the protection of groundwater. If it were up to him, there would be neither chemical fertilizers nor pesticides.This is in tune with the needs of con-sumers, who are increasingly asking for

wines that have been grown in an eco-friendly manner, as Klaus Rummel ob-serves. Yet mildew and rot present eve-ry vintner with similar problems. “New and robust fungus-resistant grapevines may be one solution and save nature from being exposed to a huge amount of chemicals,” he says. In conventional viti-culture, various fungicides can be spray-ed to destroy fungal spores. Even though they contain active agents that are con-sidered harmful to health and the envi-ronment, they ensure that the powdery mildew does not overrun the grapes with its typical fungal spores, causing them to harden and split open. Even as an organic farmer, Rummel is allowed to use sulfur. Mostly, however, he resorts to unconven-tional means. “We no longer use pow- dered sulfur at all and we have been reduc- ing the use of liquid sulfur year on year. We spray rather crazy things, primarily

… WITH DEMANDING BATCHES. Then the pickers still select the grapes by hand, often using a selection process that is as strict as that used by some elite universities to select their students. The ability of the harvesting machines to sort the grapes is generally very close to that of the meticulous manual work, but it will probably never be quite as good

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baking powder and orange oil.” Even he cannot manage completely without cop-per. The controversial heavy metal is the only agent an organic winegrower can use to combat the downy mildew. “We have now reduced its use to a minimum. The whole operation can be run with less vul-nerable grape varieties.” Rummel is cer-tain that the more that people realize how much fungus-resistant grapes are better for the water, the soil, and the insects, the greater the acceptance will be on the consumer side. In any case, he contin- ues to champion the approach and is also working on reducing the packaging waste step by step. “On the sales side, including home deliveries, we almost exclusively use

wooden boxes as outer packaging.” The oldest are now 53 years old. He takes the bottles back to use them again. “That is an important aspect for us in terms of sus-tai-nability.” Two-thirds of the clientele use this service.

PREVENTIVE MEASURESAnyone who visits the organic vineyard in Nußdorf will not only see state-of-the-art technology, but also rows of empty bot-tles, all neatly arranged. They are silent witnesses to convivial wine tastings and drinks after work, which are enjoyed regu-larly with customers, friends, and employ-ees – not just for pleasure, but also to com-plement the ongoing education, detached

from all the theory. The effects of alco-hol on the body, meanwhile, are clear to everybody: Reactions are impaired, while the readiness to take risks increases with a blood alcohol content (BAC) starting at just 0.03 percent. Statistics show that the seriousness of accidents on the road and in the workplace rises with the alcohol level. Drink-driving increases the risk of an accident. And the residual alcohol in the body the following morning should also not be underestimated. Klaus Rum-mel has taken preventive measures and had two alcohol ignition interlock de- vices (AIIDs) installed to ensure that nobody gets behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol. One is in a trac-

SILENT WITNESSES TO CONVIVIAL WINE TASTINGS AND DRINKS AFTER WORK

FOURTH GENERATION Karl Rummel is set to take over the fate of the estate at some point

AIRTIGHT Many wines age to perfection in steel tanks – others are consciously finished in wooden barrels

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tor, the other is in a delivery vehicle. The Dräger Interlock 7000 seems to be made for the job: Before starting a journey, the driver blows into the device, which pre-vents the engine from starting if a set limit is exceeded, thereby halting any-body from driving under the influence of alcohol. “We wanted to engage better with this issue. After all, we work with alco-hol here, so I see it as my duty as a busi-nessman! Turning words into deeds has been made much easier with these devic-es,” says Rummel. The 56-year-old pours himself another glass of the 2018 Califor-nia dry, beholds his estate, and enjoys the evening sun. Who can get away with that these days? Vintners like him!

“I KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT”

Mr. Süßner, you have purchased 180 alcohol interlocks* since 2014, which you make available to your member companies free of charge. Why did you want to raise awareness of “alcohol in the workplace” among employers in particular?The subject is a problem across the whole of society. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to dependency and cause illnesses. This increases the risk of absences or even accidents in the workplace. Many businesses are now interested in addiction prevention initiatives within their companies. We estimate that 20 to 25 percent of reportable workplace accidents are caused by alcohol or other drugs.

How do you convince the companies to use the alcohol interlocks?Devices in return for data – that’s the deal! Around ten percent of employees in Germany drink alcohol at levels that are linked to a higher risk of illness. However, we do not know how many people reach for the bottle in the workplace. After installing the devices, we read out the data once or twice a year and provide the participating companies with a summary, although we only state the number of incidents and do not reveal which devices or vehicles are involved.

What has changed in the companies since?They have a much greater awareness of the subject. Many appreciate how easy it is to use the devices as a preventive measure. The in-house discussion is also more straightforward. People now have a handle on noticeable problems.

What are the consequences for the employee?Some companies have escalation levels and state precisely what will happen after the first, second, or third incident – right through to the termination of the employment contract. Some take their employees out of the work process and give them menial tasks or send them straight home. Others just inform them of the situation. A few of them prescribe a technical measure, such as alcohol interlocks. The devices can effectively prevent people from driving under the influence of alcohol – whether a forklift, car, or truck – because the driver must blow into the interlock for clearance. In other words, if a set limit is exceeded, the engine will not start. There are many companies, however, that completely ignore the issue.

How does your employer approach the matter? We are currently working on a new internal risk assessment. We have almost 300 people working in the field alone. They also represent a cross section of society, two to three percent of which is said to have a serious alcohol problem. I know what I’m talking about. I grew up in an alcoholic family.

*Type: Dräger Interlock XT and Interlock 7000

One in ten employees drinks too much alcohol. The problem affects professionals across all hierarchy levels. Ulrich Süßner, divisional manager at the German Accident Prevention and Insurance Association for Trade and Distribution of Goods (BGHW), explains how alcohol interlocks can prevent accidents in the workplace.

MORE THAN 120,000 BOTTLES of organic wine were filled in Nußdorf in 2018, a record year