The members of the VDP association in Germany have presented a cautiously optimistic assessment of the 2008 vintage. Producers in the south are happier than those in the north, and there is a general scarcity of botrytis wines.

Overall, VDP members in the various wine growing regions have reported a fairly homogenous opinion on the vintage, those in the south have rated the vintage a little higher than those in other regions. Producers agree it is a slightly better than average vintage, however Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese wines are few and far between in the 2008 vintage.

According to the association of premium wine estates, the first impression is promising: complex, concentrated, very aromatic with moderate alcohol levels. When comparing 2008 to other vintages, the vintage named most often is 2004, which had a long ripening period, elegant fruit acidity and intense aromas.

The 2008 vintage can "easily hold its own in comparison to the preceding vintages" says the Adeneuer estate in the Ahr region, whereas Toni Jost (Mittelrhein) expresses his regrets that "there are no top-quality botrytis wines for the export markets". "The late-ripening varieties and the good vineyard sites are the winners of this vintage", says the Kruger-Rumpf estate. Hans Oliver Spanier (Rheinhessen) says he would "place the 2008 vintage somewhere between the 2002 and the 2004".

VDP president Steffen Christmann expressed his satisfaction: "The rainy conditions in September led us to expect difficult harvesting conditions, but conditions in October kept the late-ripening varieties such as Riesling and the Pinots healthy, and with a bit of patience they were able to achieve full physiological ripeness." Gerhard Aldinger (Württemberg) also has little cause for complaint: "Overall we are very happy with the 2008 vintage, although the volumes were around 15% lower than in the previous vintage. As a result of the balanced water supply condiitons in summer, we expect the wines to show high levels of extract, slightly less fruity than those of the 2007 vintage." Positive comments, too, from Baden: "At last, picking once again took place in October!", comments the Bercher estate. (WF)