The Württemberg Winegrowers Cleebronn-Güglingen (C&G) are among Germany’s renowned wine cooperatives. In 2017, they ranked number 1 in “Ländle and number 2 in Germany in the major cooperative comparison by Weinwirtschaft” the Gault & Millau Wine Guide 2018 described C&G as “a true model cooperative” and number 2 in Germany in the major cooperative comparison by “Weinwirtschaft”. A secret to their success lies in proper fermentation control and management. Cellar Master Andreas Reichert explains the importance of the right temperature for the characteristics of wines.
The Standard: High-Level Quality
Top quality and precise temperatures have one thing in common: they are either achieved or missed. Cellar Master Andreas Reichert describes this fine line as follows: “If you want to reach the top, you have to push the limits. If you never push the limits, you won’t get really good. It’s a fine line.” This fine line in wine fermentation also involves the correct temperature readings. For precise fermentation temperatures, you need a supplier you can rely on. Andreas Reichert has known LiquoSystems since his training as a graduate engineer in viticulture and oenology at FH Geisenheim. “As a student, I was involved in a project back then, and LiquoSystems was a system partner. Since then, trust has grown, and the partnership has remained.”
The Challenge: Reliability for High Volumes
The Weingärtner Cleebronn-Güglingen pursue a quality strategy, which is not easy to implement for a cooperative with around 580 members, 300 hectares of vineyards, and 3 million liters of must per year. “For us, reliability is a big issue. If 40,000 liters of our large volumes were to ferment at temperatures that are too warm, it would cost us a lot of money!” The infrastructure comprises approximately 50 tanks, all of which can be individually controlled via a central control system. However, LiquoSystems does not require 50 control units for this. For example, 7 tanks can be bundled with one Nano Top control unit. LiquoSystems’ software allows everything to be configured and labeled in such a way that even 50 tanks can be clearly controlled.
“”The costs of an investment are always immediately visible, but the benefits often only become apparent when something goes wrong.”” Precision, reliability, and fast service response times are three important topics for Andreas Reichert. A fourth is error-free and simple operation. “You have an extreme amount on your plate, you’re on duty 24/7 – everything should just run smoothly and few additional issues should arise. Because the mistakes you make in autumn, the wine won’t forgive in the end.” That’s why the alarm functions with mobile phone notifications are very important, especially when you’re not at the tanks but in the vineyard. This is particularly true when managing large quantities (in hl) with high quality standards.
The Importance of Correct Fermentation and Storage Temperatures
“Temperature is very important for the fermentation and storage phase; this realization is becoming increasingly widespread. At the beginning of my career, as a young lad, I once gave a lecture on temperature to old cellar masters. They almost laughed me out of the room. Until, in the end, I surpassed many of them with my wines”, says Reichert. Temperature is an important factor with which he influences the style and character of his wines. If you ferment cooler, you get different aromas and can coax out certain nuances from a grape that would otherwise remain locked away. Ideally, you follow the ideal temperature curve. “We measure the progress of fermentation every day and have our own philosophy for each wine, based on the experience of recent years. However, we often experiment as well.” With temperature control, Andreas Reichert specifically changes the style of his wines. This varies depending on the grape variety and yeast. “I try to ferment Riesling a bit cooler and keep the aromas rather lean, while I want Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay to be fuller-bodied, so I ferment them a bit warmer.”
Programmed for Success – with LiquoSystems
With the central color display and the control software, the Cellar Master always has an eye on his tanks. During the fermentation phase, he changes the target temperature value of his wines almost every day and decides, based on experience, which wine with which yeast tolerates or requires which temperature. Normally, temperatures for white wines are between 10 and 20 degrees, but: “We also go down to 9 degrees if the yeast is really going full throttle. Depending on the yeast, this can sometimes take two to four days.” Red wines are typically fermented between 20 and 30 degrees. “In between, there’s the whole spectrum.” This explains why the Weingärtner Cleebronn-Güglingen control much by hand, even though controls could be automated via actual and target value specifications. Quality is in the details.
The correct fermentation control and cooling is a science in itself for every wine variety and type, operated with much experience, exact measured values from the control units, target temperature curves, and a lot of intuition. With 50 tanks running in parallel, the pace is extremely high. Despite this daily work with temperature control, the limits of what is feasible have still not been reached at Weingärtner Cleebronn-Güglingen. “The devices can do much more than what is done with them,” Reichert knows. But ultimately, the devices are not operated by robots or algorithms, but by people. And that is usually better for the soul of the wines. Under the motto: “As gently as possible and as much technology as necessary,” they rely on tradition here, but also keep up with the times in modern control technology. The success and accolades that the winegrowers’ cooperative has experienced over the last decade speak for themselves. Here, the work was clearly programmed for success.
The Customer: The Weingärtner Cleebronn-Güglingen eG
Through exquisite manual work and in harmony with nature, the Weingärtner Cleebronn-Güglingen produce award-winning wines from the heart of Zabergäu in Württemberg, picturesquely located in the Heilbronn district, near the Tripsdrill wildlife park paradise. The concept is well-received. The wine cooperative has been mentioned in the Gault & Millau WineGuide Germany since 2010. In the 2012 edition, they received two grapes and the special award “Discovery of the Year”. They have also been featured in Eichelmann with one star since 2010. In the Vinum Wine Guide, they immediately received three stars and were named the best cooperative in Germany in 2018. In the major cooperative comparison by the wine trade magazine WEINWIRTSCHAFT, they achieved first place in Württemberg and second place among all German winegrowers’ cooperatives in Germany in the 2017 competition.
Additional Key Data:
- Soil Types: Keuper, Bunter Mergel, Schilfsandstein
- Red/White Ratio: 30% Red Wine, 40% Rosé & Blanc de Noir, 30% White Wine
- Red Grape Varieties: Lemberger (24%), Trollinger (14%), Pinot Noir (9%), Pinot Meunier (9%), Samtrot (3%), Other (7%)
- White Grape Varieties: Riesling (17%), Pinot Gris (4%), Pinot Blanc (3%), Müller-Thurgau (2%), Chardonnay (2%), Silvaner (2%), Other (3%)