Farming : Certified Organic

Winemaking : Hand-Picked Grapes | Native Yeast Fermentation | Vegan

Region : Kremstal, Austria

Grape : Grüner Veltliner

Alcohol by Volume : 11.9%

Woman winemaker: Ilse Maier

Notes:

400 Years in wine. Ilse Maier’s mother’s family has lived in the hilltop village of Oberfucha since the 16th century where the family began in agriculture and brickworks. In the 17th century, Maria Theresia, archduchess of Austria, granted the property owner, whose name was Geyer, a concession to transport wine on the Danube in trade with Hungary and other regions along the river. The ship on the wine label refers to this trade. Today, the winery is housed in a 16th-century structure built of brick, with cellars beneath it constructed between the early 1300’s and the late 1700’s. Among these, the “French cellar” where Napoleon’s army stored their wine rations during a battle in nearby Wagram. The room’s perfect temperature and humidity make it an ideal place to archive the best of each vintage. In 1986, after studying agriculture in Vienna and spending time in San Rapael, Argentina, Ilse joined her father in wine production. Today she works in the vineyards and the cellar, aided by her son Josef to produce wines reflective of their site.

This Gruner has been a staple for us since we began working with Geyerhof. From the vineyard, you can look up at the Stift Gottweig Abbey and down at the Danube River. To your back is buffer of forest. The Danube gives the wind to lessen the disease pressure, the forest buffer keeps it cool for acidity, and the exposure is more than enough for ripeness. The soil is a mixture of gravel and sand. Grapes are hand picked, whole cluster pressed, then aged on the less until February. More the stony and citrus side of Gruner rather than the grassy and Sauvignon Blanc end of the spectrum.