Two cuvees of Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay, a classic one and the reserve. When we started, we couldn´t imagine, where to we would be lead, we only had the idea to devote our work to one of the most pleasant things in life: wine.

We were offered space in the cellar of an experienced vintner, he has an excellent understanding of the vineyards and the processes of winemaking and has taught us so many things. He became our friend and master.

His daughter and son in law should take over his winery, but decided then not to. So one hot day in summer, I was working in the vineyard, I saw him driving along with the tractor and thought we deserved a beer for refreshment, so I stopped him and wanted to ask him. But in a way he had such a serious look on his face, that I didn´t. So I waited for, what he was going to say. But he just looked down the rows of vines and didn´t say a word, so I was also quiet.

Some minutes passed by without saying a word, just standing next to each other and looking at the vineyards, as suddenly he said: „Do you want to have the vineyards? You can have them, if you want, my daughter just told me, that she´s not carrying on.“

That was the moment, the winery how it is existing today was born. We hope, we can pursue the tradition fueled by our own impetus and ideas in honour of our friend and teacher.

The soil of our vines in Ried Hintern Dorf

What we didn´t know at the beginning was how interesting and yes, thrilling the soil in Gauderndorf is. We realised, when we dug new ventilation systems for our cellar, that this is a really unique soil: Partly there is sediments of primary rock, eroded granite.

But there is more, there are also marine sediments of shells and algae, remnants of the Tethys and Paratethys sea, which some million years ago had their shore in Eggenburg, our neighbouring town. Even sirens were found nearby.

The white stripes you can see is geologically called Zogelsdorfer Sand and the yellow-brownish material is called after our village: Gauderndorfer Formation. So million of years ago underneath our feet there once has been an ocean.

Der Königsberg – King´s Rock

If there ever was a king on this mountain, we don´t know, but what we can say for sure, is, that the wines that grow there, are also outstanding and thanks to democratic times not only for a king´s palate. Or let us put it that way: you could feel like a king drinking these wines.

The wines from Königsberg are also minerally driven with delicate acidity because of the primary rock sediments.

This other but equally important site hosts Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Rotburger.

These are the two major sites of our vineyards, there are some smaller ones in Straning and on the Stoitzenberg. We always indicate from which site the wines come from.

Who we are?

Petra, Leopold and Christian in the small compartment of our cellar, where we age some of our wines in casks of „Weidlinger“ oak, which comes from woods near Vienna.

Obviously nutty as a fruitcake, but not driven by madness, being passionate and devoted to our materia prima wine, we started in 2013.

Master´s apprentices at the beginning for sure, we had an excellent and patient teacher, Rudi Neuhold, who owned the winery before. 

We also took every chance to get more skills and knowledge from internships in renowned Austrian wineries to courses in pruning of the vines by Simonit & Sirch in Naples, Italy e.g..

The Cellar

Looks like an ancient grotto with mystic atmosphere, this was shortly after the first round of renovating with all the tanks out.

6 to 10 meters above there is part of the vinyards. The cellar was excavated deep into a hill and got there for a steady climate all over the year.

There are for sure more efficient, stylish and/or economic working spaces, but we decided to stick with it, because it´s there and reflects quite well the idea, that we stand for. 

What we do with the cellar, is respectfully trying to enhance working quality as far as we can.

What we do in there

Sometimes, we have to admit, it get´s cold in there and we´re freezing and wish we had a working situation, which would be more comfortable, but that´s something we have to overcome. Anyhow, we have/want to guard and nurture our wines, that´s what our energy is focused upon. Most of the times we contemplate and listen to music

We try to accompany our wines in the best possible way, so that they can express their potential.

We chose to work in this traditional cellar, which got an extraordinary atmosphere, because we respect, that wines have been made there for many, many years and  we respect tradition, but we are not forced to obey blindly, what is traditional common sense or mainstream.

So we also like to experiment, with amphora e.g. Or we ferment some of our white wines on the skins, not following the ideologic flag of raw wines, but to extract more fruit and more aroma. Or we feel really effervescencening by the natural bubbles of our petillants naturelles.

What´s the story behind the label?

We are often asked, why this label? What does it mean?

Is it a fingerprint? Is it  tree rings? Is it a psychedelic experience?

Probably none of them or all of them, we don´t know. And in a way it´s not that important to us, we didn´t even ask the artist, it´s all to the imagination of the viewer. And that´s what we like.

Claus Hugo Nielsen is the artist, who painted it  whilst he had a residence in Vienna, we loved it, bought it and it was in our home long before we started making wine.

Sleepless nights thinking about the label were part of our start to make wine, until one day we passed by that painting and immediatly we knew, that´s it. We didn´t regret it.

Conclusio

We are devoted to what we do. We chose to make wine, because we wanted to do it, not because we were obliged to.

On our about 9 hectares we have an approach to work as close as we can get to listening to the physis of our vineyards. No insecticides, no herbicides.

The year´s circle, the unique and amazing soil of the vineyards and nature´s will are the guidelines to allow our wines to breathe.

In the cellar we accompany our wines, rather than forcing them in a certain direction.

We work with heart and soul and our wines they do the rock´n´roll.

Der Wein und seine Kultur

Weinparadies westliches Weinviertel

Ein Buch von Erich Pello

Erich Pello durchstreift seine Wahlheimat, das westliche Weinviertel, immer auf der Suche nach Wissenswertem über sein Lieblingsthema: den Wein und seine Kultur. Die Geschichte des Weinbaues ist ihm dabei genauso wichtig wie dessen gegenwärtige Entwicklung. Er besucht Weingüter im Pulkautal und im Retzer Land, am Fuße des Manhartsbergs und im Schmidatal.

Bei seinen Recherchen hat Erich Pello auch unser Weingut besucht. Was er darüber schreibt können Sie hier nachlesen:

>> Auszug aus dem Buch von Erich Pello