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Winemaking is a daily challenge. Almost every day we spend in the vineyards, from mid-January to late October. There are countless fine adjustments we can make – or not make. Sometimes we recognise the need for patience, to not do anything at all.
In some ways, vines resemble children. No two are alike. Our job is to ensure a balance among them. This means careful pruning, as well as nurturing greenery that enriches the soil with organisms and encourages biodiversity. And we carefully tend the foliage to respond to changes in weather.
On our steep slopes, this means doing every task by hand and around 1,200 hours’ work for every hectare.
Dry stone walls have formed the base of the Wachau’s terraced vineyards – for thousands of years. Without the walls, no grapes could be grown on the steep slopes.
Did you know that for every square metre of terrace wall we have moved a tonne of stones? By hand of course. Stone on stone. For generations.
Once we have harvested the grapes, we have only one goal: to produce authentic wines displaying the Wachau’s typical distinctiveness. In the cellar, we seek to translate the balanced fruit and the characteristics of the various vineyards, into wines precisely reflecting these qualities.
Sound challenging? It is. That’s precisely why we find winemaking so exciting.
As little as possible. As much as necessary. That’s our motto when working in the cellar. Here we let our wines quietly mature. How long the wines are left on the lees or aged in large wooden casks – that’s up to Leo, with his wealth of experience.
Winery Alzinger
Unterloiben 11
3601 Dürnstein
Wachau – Austria
Phone +43 2732 77900
Fax +43 2732 77900-50
Mail weingut(at)alzinger.at