Hail – a very painful sight

Hail is one of the most feared weather phenomena in viticulture

As you can see from the photos in just a few minutes, a hailstorm can wipe out an entire year’s work and present winegrowers with massive economic challenges. 

During his 25-year career, Christof has never seen such extensive damage as this in his own vineyards. In the past hail damage has been limited to individual vineyards on a small scale but on July 6, 2025 this changed. A hail storm swept between the villages of Purbach and Winden and 70% of our vineyards were hit. Depending on the location, between 10% and 40% of the berries were damaged.

Immediate damage

Hailstones cause mechanical damage to vines, leaves and grapes and have a particularly devastating effect during the growing season, when the shoots are still soft and the grapes are ripening. 

In these pictures from our vineyard ‘Außere Glauberinzer’ the ice projectiles have clearly broken off shoots, torn and punctured leaves and broken open berries. These wounds become entry points for fungal diseases such as gray mold or vinegar rot. Now significant care and attention is needed to ensure the uninjured berries can develop to their full potential and to make the most of what is left. Over the next weeks the more severely damaged (now brown) berries will fall off after drying out from the effects of sun and wind and this we expect will reduce the upcoming harvest by at least 20%. 

It is a blessing the hailstones were not large enough to damage the woody vine as this would also impact the next season. In that sense we are fortunate but there is no denying this hurts.