Funkstille FUNK Skin Contact

We all need a little 'Funkstille' (radio silence) in our life now and again.
Kick back and take a moment to enjoy the silence with a glass of Gruner Veltliner. With its subtle exotic hints, ripe pear and fresh citrus flavours, it's a dry wine with complex flavours. The palate is rich with flavours of melon and grapefruit with a refreshing, zippy finish. Gruner Veltliner is joined by a bright, juicy, joyful red produced from 100% Zweigelt. Abundant red cherry, plum and vibrant berry fruits combine in this joyful, bright and incredibly juicy red; medium-bodied with beautifully ripe and light tannins and touch of spice on the finish.

Gruner Veltliner, Muscat, Chardonnay

Sustainably certified by agroVet, they also produce their own fertiliser. They produce their own seeds to sew cover crops in the vineyards and use straw from the fields in the young vineyards to protect the vines from dry stress. The grapes are harvested carefully, early in the morning by hand and machine from 15 year + old trellis grown vines in Weinviertel within the Niederosterreich region which are sited on loess, clay, granite mix soils and where the climate is cool continental. Vineyards are sited at approximately 230 to 300m ASL and are mostly orientated South, South East and South West, on terraces with an incline of between 10 and 40 degrees.

60% Gruner Veltliner, 30% Muscat, 10% Chardonnay.

The winery is energy neutral, producing energy from their Biogas plant and a Photovoltaic system which produces more energy than is required. The grapes are pressed and left in contact with the skins to extract the orange colour and additional flavour compound, then the must is fermented in stainless steel tank with selected yeasts for 15 to 25 days at controlled temperatures which get warmer the nearer they get to the end of fermentation. There is no malolactic fermentation but the wine benefits from 8 weeks of lees contact. Gentle fining and cold stabilisation.

This delightful blend offers up notes of ginger, white pepper and flowers, with an underlying hint of green tea and mandarin. Fabulous razor like acidity, gentle tannic grip from the skins and generous fruit with every mouthful.

Perfect with roasted vegetables, Alpine cheese such as Comte or Gruyere or even risotto bianco.

I fondly refer to this wine as "Funkenstein's Monster". Its a beast of a wine and a freak of nature but once you get to know it its wonderfully gentle and elegant.

Expect all the floral and fruity flavours of the four usual suspects in Austrian wine making, Riesling, Gruner, Gewertz and Muscat. It's literally like they've lobbed all their favourites in a vat and let them play together. You also get a great tannic grip and glorious mouthfeel owing to the maceration with the grape skins.

IT'S ALIVE!

~Max