It is the allure of nature that has always captivated and moved us. In a world full of change, it is the only constant – calm, honest, and simply beautiful. It allows us to breathe deeply and grounds us. In the next moment, it shows us our limits and reminds us that we are only a small part of the bigger picture. The life of a winemaker is an exciting one. It is diverse and challenging. It’s about observing and understanding. About failing and learning. As winemakers, we grow with experience – fortunately, ours goes back several generations, which makes many things easier. However, we are far from finished learning. And that’s a good thing, because it should remain exciting. What has solidified over the course of the last decades, however, are the underlying convictions with which we passionately pursue our daily work today:
Origin You Can Feel
Everything has its origin somewhere; nothing is created in a vacuum. All that we know is in interaction with its immediate surroundings from the beginning. Like the vines that penetrate deeper and deeper soil layers with their roots and extract necessary nutrients there. Like the unique climate of the Kamptal, which directs and controls the physiological processes of our vines. Like our family, when we influence the development of our cultures with careful actions. Our wine tells a story about the soil in which it grew. About the warm autumn days and cool nights of the Kamptal, which lend it elegance and vibrancy. It is our appreciation for this story that makes us take a step back. We want to accompany, not direct – in the form of careful manual work in the vineyard, gentle processing, and reduced intervention in our wine cellar. This is our idea of origin: characterful, elegant, and always unadulterated.
Respect for Our Homeland
We love nature and our homeland. Instead of thinking in years or even quarters, we think in generations. This guides our daily actions & behavior. Our family always works with the awareness that the next generation should find better conditions than the current one. We see the earth in which our vines are rooted as our greatest capital. We provide our soils with necessary nutrients using organic fertilizers like compost. Every 2 years, we sow diverse ground cover that loosens soil compaction in our vineyard rows with their roots. The knee-high growing plants shade our soils and thus protect them from drying out. They provide shelter for numerous animal species, and their nectar-rich flowers serve as a food source for insects like bees, bumblebees, and butterflies. For us, vital soils and vineyards are fundamental for the creation of great wines. Therefore, the use of insecticides and herbicides in our facilities is out of the question. The topic of sustainability is a big one and doesn’t end in the vineyard for us: we produce green electricity with our own photovoltaic system and heat our house with wood pellets (renewable resources). Glass bottles are, when possible, taken back by us, cleaned, and reused.
Handcraft
Wherever possible, we rely on careful handwork in our winery. This allows us to attend to each vine and each grape individually. Only in this way do we meet our own high standards of quality. From pruning, to removing excess shoots, to hand-picking and selection on the vine in autumn – there are countless manual tasks that require much knowledge, experience, and sensitivity. During the harvest, we are then rewarded for our efforts – after all, there is nothing more beautiful for us than being able to hold the fruits of our hard work in our hands in autumn.