The labels for our 2019 Grüner Veltliners from the Hohenberg and Georgenberg will now bear the official seal for Erste Lagen: 1ÖTW. 

The Österreichische Traditionsweingüter, a growers association founded in 1992, defines and classifies outstanding vineyard sites along the Danube. The ‘Erste Lage’ designation is reserved for sites with a proven history of showing the distinct characteristics of the region, soils, climate, grape variety and cellar. Other winegrowing regions throughout Austria and Europe use these site classifications as well, allowing for international comparisons.

True and authentic

“We consider the fact that our two Ried wines may now bear the Erste Lage prädikat to be a tremendous compliment for us and our work,” Josef Ehmoser notes with quiet pride. Wines from the sites on the Hohenberg reflect their south-by-southeast orientation and elevation through a cool character, with smoky nuances and hints of black tea. The Grüner Veltliner from the Georgenberg, a warm southern-facing site that is protected from the wind, present with structure, tremendous depth and nuanced, ripe fruit aromas.

We started the new year with verve and released our two estate wines Grüner Veltliner Wagram Terrassen and Rosé Vom Zweigelt from the magnificent 2019 vintage.

The new label design of our charming Rosé Vom Zweigelt, which radiates freshness and fruitiness, is packed full of vitality. Our Grüner Veltliner Wagram Terrassen, characterized by loess soil terroir, is the classic ambassador of our home town in Wagram. Both wines are just waiting to be enjoyed!

The climatic conditions were ideal throughout 2019. After a cold February and March, the month of May brought much rain, leading to a very warm and remarkably stable summer. Fortunately, rainfall always seemed to arrive when the vines needed water most, and at just the right time. The year was blessed with an Indian Summer and golden autumn with perfect weather conditions during the harvest. Thus 2019 can join the Club of Nines, as referring to outstanding vintages at the close of the decade over the past 20 years: 1999, 2009 and now 2019.

Sustainability only works if it is thoroughly lived, otherwise you can forget it.

We would like to take this opportunity to tell you about our current project for a stable ecosystem in the vineyard. We have created biodiversity areas in our vineyards. Thus insects, lizards, young partridges and rabbits find protection, refuge or even a place for sunbathing in our recently constructed cairns. We have also planted fruit trees, which provide welcome shade for our hard-working staff during their lunch break. The fruit borne may be nibbled as a snack between the vines. This biodiversity also offers many species of birds a new home. This creates the necessary network for a stable ecosystem within the vineyard.

When the cold gets going, the going gets cold! We made our own special Easter fire that kindled at the Wagram in the week preceding Easter.

We had frost candles that shone brightly on our vineyards in the starry and icy night from 15th to 16th April. This was essential to keep our three-year-old vines from literally freezing from excessive frostbite. It was really chilly during the early hours of the morning. Hence we spread candles between the rows of vineyards, lit them and successfully averted the threat of frost damage.

Our Grüner Veltliner Gutswein is debuting a new name: Wagram Terrassen. With the change, our Wagram origins move more clearly into the spotlight.

We live in the eastern section of the Wagram, where loessy soils produce outstanding Grüner Veltliner. The Wagram is a terrace-shaped and remarkable ridge amidst the surrounding landscape. Visibility stretches as far as the Ötscher and Schneeberg mountains. Linguistically, the Wagram name derives from the Middle High German: “wac” for wave or welter, and “rain” for meadow or hillside. Here is where our spicy, deep Grüner Veltliner grows. Shaped by our loess soils, it is a classic ambassador for our Wagram home. After a year of advantageous weather conditions, the 2018 vintage has emerged as particularly rich.

A wine of yore: one-of-a-kind, rich in body and character — the taste of our newest wine.

In times past, vineyards were planted with a mix of varieties to avoid vintage-by-vintage fluctuations in any given variety. This traditional wine style is produced in our vineyard below a small forest with the ruins of a medieval wooden castle — hence the name “Unter der Burg”.
Eight different varieties – Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Zierfandler, Rotgipfler and Neuburger – are grown, harvested and vinified here together. Following a period on the skins, the new wine spends almost a year resting on the lees in large oak barrels. The result: a field blend of beautiful concentration, complex texture, tremendous aging potential and a range of aromatics spanning from honey to ripe pear.

Vintage 2018: We completed harvest on September 24 — earlier than ever before.

2018 will deliver wines of rich, ripe fruit with a powerful structure. Our April was extremely warm, leading to an early and dynamic bud break, with a notable absence of the annual cold snap known locally as a “sheep chill”. Following this early blossoming, the grapes flourished right up through the start of the harvest on August 30. While it was a hot and dry year, several small-scale but hefty storms provided much needed moisture to the fruit.

A special vintage
Although the 2018s are currently sleeping in the cellar, it is already quite clear that this vintage will be remembered as one of equal parts ripe fruit, powerful structure and notable longevity. Our two Gutswein, the Wagram Terrassen Grüner Veltliner and Rosé Vom Zweigelt, will be released for sale in mid-January 2019. We are especially excited about the pair of single site wines, the Hohenberg and Georgenberg Grüner Veltliner, which have spent the summer maturing in large wooden barrels. They are showing potential for truly grand wines. The 2018 vintage will also produce outstanding reds.