Alexander and Maria Koppitsch began making wine in Burgenland in 2011. They took over their parents 5.5-hectare winery and moved from selling their grapes into making their own wine. The vineyards are in the Neusiedl am See, a small village situated at the shores of the Neusidl Lake and on the eastern end of the Leitha Mountains which feature soft, rolling hills of mostly limestone soil. Like his father and grandfather before him, Alex does not believe in introducing any additives into the grapes or the wine. They use Rudolf Steiner’s biodynamic principles to cultivate their grapes, and pride themselves on performing every aspect of the vineyard management and the winemaking by hand, on a very small scale.

The Koppitsch wines have shifted in recent vintages, from what was previously a focus on single varietal bottlings, to what is now a focus on their various soil types:

SEEFELD: sandy soil – HOMOK  + ROSZA + PERSPEKTIVE VINTAGE + PRETTY NɅTS- Grüner Veltliner, Weissburgunder, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir

NEUBERG: limestone + schist – ROSZA + PERSPEKTIVE WEISS + PERSPEKTIVE ROT + TOUCH + PRETTY NɅTS+ AEON – Chardonnay, Blaufränkisch, St. Laurent, Syrah, Welschriesling, Weissburgunder

PRÄDIUM + HUTWEIDE: gravel  – RÉT + ROSZA + PRETTY NUTS + AEON – Zweigelt, St. Laurent

SCHAFBÜHL: clay soil – JUH + TOUCH – Gemischter Satz white

Rét translates from Hungarian as grassland or field, since the land where these grapes grow used to be a pasture for feeding the livestock of the village.

Vineyard: Hutweide and Prädium plots on top of the Wagram-Plateau. Mostly sandy soil underneath a very thick layer of gravel, alluvial soil from the ancient Danube river. Healthy but poor and very dry and early-ripening. Planted 1988 – 2002, a total surface of 1.86 hectares.

Grapes: 80% Zweigelt, 20% St. Laurent

Making of: The grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed, and fermented naturally on skins for 6 days. Pressed into stainless steel (Zweigelt + St.Laurent) and large acacia vats (Zweigelt), where they matured on gross lees for 9 months without any additives, without fining, and without filtration, or temperature control. Blended together shortly before bottling. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, the 2020 vintage didn’t get any SO2 addition.

Personality: a joyful celebration of Austrian red varietals and bright light style of red wines – fruity and spicy with great drinkability.

-Jenny&Francois