This wine was still made by Ernesto and as you might have guessed the number means the elevation of the vineyard. The 450 is the highest in the range. After a couple of days macerating with the skins, the wine is made by fully fermenting it until it is completely dry. Before they bottle they mix in must from dried passito grapes to finish a secondary fermentation and create the carbonation. You will get grassy notes combined with pear and sour apples. Though we usually have this with Pizza, this is a perfect match to many kinds of spicy and flavorful Asian food.

After spending a year in South Africa with Craig Hawkins, of Testalonga, Matthias came back to Austria and got his first two hectares in Etsdorf with Grüner Veltliner and Zweigelt in 2011. By now he’s at 10 hectares which he mostly got from his father Ernst. Some vineyards are still being converted to organic, but most are already. He is constantly evolving how he makes wine and later did another learning session with Tome Lubbe of Matassa in the Roussillon.

The “Little Bastard” was one of the first naturals Jan made and it is a bastard in a region which is so focused on Riesling. It still is mainly Riesling, but with the right amount of Sauvignon Blanc and a tiny bit of other grapes. They all ferment separately with various amounts of skin contact before they go into a big old barrel for just three months. It is bottled with a little bit of fizz to make it stay fresh longer. It is a very wild, but easy drinking white wine with aromas of peach and lime. This will be definitely a brilliant summer wine and especially good with any kind of cheese.