2023 Christina Grüner Veltliner

100% organic Grüner Veltliner from estate-owned vineyards farmed by Christina’s family. Soils are primarily red gravel and loess. Grapes are hand-harvested and pressed as whole bunches. The juice is fermented spontaneously in stainless steel in a long, slow ferment thanks to the cold cellar temperatures. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, with a small addition of sulfur. 

Don‘t be scared off by the slight cloudiness to this wine- it is clean, bright, crisp and refreshing. Full of citrus, white peach and pear fruit, with a lightly peppery and rocky undertone. Pairs well with fried chicken and light fish and seafood, or go for Wiener Schnitzel or pork knuckle if  a full-on Austrian experience is required. The winemaker recommends to shake the bottle a bit before serving.

Christina Netzl, the winemaker behind the Christina wines, speaks about her personal journey in such a compelling, passionate and sweet way that we’ll just let her do the talking here: “I grew up with my sister on the mixed family-run farm owned by my parents and grandparents, cultivating different grains, corn, sugar beets, breeding pigs and growing some vines. Lending a hand almost everywhere on the farm, I fell in love with wine production (and snacking on food from our gardens and the neighborhood) at a very early age. I loved being in the vineyards, helping in the cellar, and telling our customers the stories behind the wines. My future occupation was crystal clear to me: I am becoming a vintner!”

“My parents later focused fully on wine-growing and gradually built up the winery to the 28 hectares we have now. I learned everything about “classical” wine production from my father while working alongside him in the vineyards and the cellar. But, fascinated by all the microbiological processes behind the scenes, I decided to gain more knowledge by studying enology and wine management. An internship for a London wine importer was such an eye-opening moment: it is where I got to know sooo many different wines and styles from all over the world, unbeknown to me before.”

“Fascinated by this diversity and impressed by organically produced wines from small producers all over the world, I decided to focus on finding the typical style of our wine-growing region Carnuntum when I joined my parents back home at the winery in 2007. Increasingly concerned about soil conditions, micro-climates, and nature in the vineyards, my husband and I decided to gradually turn our vineyards organic in 2013. (The fact of raising our two little daughters had a strong influence as well, as you can imagine.) In 2018, we asked for official organic certification, and the 2021 vintage was our first officially certified one.”

“Over the years, I’ve also been experimenting with different low-intervention methods in the cellar. I fell in love with them and the living wines they yield, and I ended up adding my own range of natural wines to the more classical ones ‘inherited’ from my father.”