Grapes: Welschriesling
Region: Styria, Austria
Vintage: 2020
Viticulture: Organic + Biodynamic
Soils: Opok
Vinification: Grapes are hand-harvested into small crates, with manual selection in the vineyard. Destemmed, left on skins overnight, and then gently pressed in open pneumatic press. Both the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations happen spontaneously in old neutral French barriques and 300L barrels.
Aging: The wine spends about 12 months in total neutral oak casks.
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: None added
Notes from the Importer: Roland is a member of Schmecke das Leben (“Taste Life”), a circle of like-minded Styrian growers whose wines we really love – his colleagues Franz Strohmeier, Sepp Muster, Andreas Tscheppe are also represented by us in the States.
All Tauss’ vineyards lay on one hill called Hohenegg, a beautifully green sun-laden slope with a chapel dedicated to St. Urban – the patron saint of winemakers – at the top.
Roland has a ritual of walking up there every morning, and you can definitely see the daily hike in his impressive calf muscles
The “Opok” wines are made with grapes from the lower part of the hill, while the “H” line comes from the steeper upper parts that yield wines with more structure
Besides the immaculate winery, the Tauss’ property also features a cozy, fully eco-friendly hotel that takes advantage of its beautiful verdant surroundings, with wellness and yoga classes, run by Roland’s wife Alice – a tip for your next holiday retreat, perhaps?
