A little sad and fascinated at the same time, Martin Otto Wörner set out to reinvigorate the old vineyard his parents didn’t use anymore, as they were focusing on fruit wines. He started studying in the almost legendary classes of Geisenheim, as many winemaker kids in Germany seem to have started their natural focus there. After stints at Matassa and Gut Oggau, he knew how to tend to the vines to get the kind of authentic wine he wanted to make. And he wants to preserve certain things he was left with, for instance, the cellar his grandpa used. It’s small, but he wants to limit himself to not make more wine than fits in there. With currently 3 hectares of absolutely organic plots, he’s happy with what he got, but as you know, the hype is real.
This orange wine cuvée is made with grapes, which are partly grown together in the vineyard. All grapes and plots ferment individually. Two-thirds of the grapes are left with their skins for two weeks to ferment, which adds some good structure and tannins (the bitter stuff) to the wine. The Riesling and Silvaner juices are directly pressed, and then all are left for roughly 10 months in barrels. With the assemblage, he decides what ratio he uses for all the grapes. This year the wine is a little cloudier and less reductive after opening. Instead, it greets you with an exotic cocktail mixed with herbal tea. Once you taste it, a beautiful Grapefruit says 'hi,' and a grippy acidity helps you along. This makes it a flexible food wine that you can have with spicy Chinese food or a simple roast chicken.