December 18, 2020

BEFORE CHRISTMAS

In the shopping malls and shops, you would now be wandering through the shelves covered with Christmas decorations to the sound of “Last Christmas” and “Mary’s Boychild” and undoubtedly get lost in the hustle and bustle of the crowds.

My father and I would be in the ski resorts located in the western region of Austria right now, promoting our wines. Tobias and Christian would be very busy with cellar work, Maria wouldn’t be able to leave our restaurant the “Herztröpferl” because of all the Christmas parties, and Rafaela and I would be managing everything in the background so that everyone gets their wine to the slopes, their home, hotel or restaurant on time.

But not this year. Corona has hit us restauranteurs, wine growers and the hotel industry particularly hard. And yet, it has also been a small gift – there is always a silver lining. The pre-Christmas holiday is quieter. A lot of things can be delivered to you and you get to spend more time with your loved ones. This can also be a very peaceful and beautiful time, a good time to use for reflection.

That’s why this year at Christmas we should think of our loved ones in particular and give thanks that everyone is safe and sound.

Have a great glass of one of our fine quality wines and stay healthy!

Sebastian

November 2, 2020

END OF HARVEST

On Monday, October 5^th we finished this year’s harvest. The grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Neugebirge vineyard were brought to the winery at 6 pm sharp and processed. After almost four, very beautiful, but also rainy weeks of starting work at 4 a.m., we can now devote ourselves to our work in our cellar.
The quality is impressive. As a result of some rainy weather we did a pre-selection wine-tasting in the vineyard. This year, we were particularly impressed by the Neuburger and Muskat Ottonel vintages. These almost finished wines are very fresh and fruity in the tank. Great, powerful wines await us in the 2020 Leithaberg DAC. Our Pinot Blanc took the longest time for fermentation (spontaneous) a total of 16 days and is now resting in the subtle finely yeast process in large wooden barrels, just like the Grüner Veltliner and Chardonnay. With the Hochenperg® (Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc & Neuburger wine grapes are harvested together) the fermentation already has already been started in the new barrique and the wine is now resting peacefully in its yeast in these barrels.
The classic red wines from our “Seestern” line have the largest part of the fermentation process behind them and are already proving to have a fantastic berry aroma. The single vineyards were selectively harvested by hand and the Merlot and Cabernet are still in the fermentation process. Our Blaufränkisch Ried Marienthal was brought home on 22 September during the beautiful autumn weather. The strictly selective hand harvesting of this vineyard is the highlight of the harvest every year. After 3 weeks of spontaneous fermentation, the wine is now resting snuggly and warmly in the new barrique during its organic acid reduction phase.

We are grateful and satisfied with what we were able to bring into the cellar this year. And even though we will all remember 2020 forever as an extraordinary, difficult and challenging year, we will also remember that we rose to the occasion and have the certainty that this vintage will give us all great pleasure.

Sebastian & Barbara