Producer: Christian Tschida

Christian Tschida

Where?

The easternmost state of Austria, Burgenland, was part of the Kingdom of Hungary until 1920. It shares borders with Hungary to the east, Slovakia to the northeast, and Slovenia to the south. At the crossroads of cultures, the wind whispers a part of European history. To the north stretches a large lake, the Neusiedler See, on the banks of which grow Christian Tschida's vines. As it is also located in the heart of the Burgenland Nature Park, Christian's estate is ideally located: the winemaker is well aware of his fortune. These vines have been in his family for four generations, and the estate dates back to the 19th century. The Burgenland winemaking tradition is more associated with red and sweet wines, but Christian's viticulture is unique: both intuitive and precise, traditional and experimental. With a reputation as the enfant terrible of Austrian winemaking and known for producing wines quite far removed from the local character, he is in fact focused on developing his own personal style. He does as he pleases, but it's a well-rounded mind: each of his gestures is deeply studied, and his laissez-faire approach remains skillfully calculated. All his work expresses extreme delicacy and attentive listening to nature. While Austria is, generally speaking, a leading wine-growing country, producing memorable gems in red, dry white, sweet, and liqueur wines, Burgenland is also a beautiful place to practice natural viticulture, in complete harmony with the fauna, flora, and wild geese… It's no coincidence that Christian named one of his most famous vintages "paradise on earth."

Terroir, plots, and grape varieties

Nearby Lake Neusiedl creates a microclimate that exerts its softening influence on Christian's vines. The soils are schist and limestone, with the rocks breaking down into sandy gravel with good drainage. Spanning eleven hectares, the estate boasts a large proportion of old vines, averaging forty to sixty years old. The grape varieties are an interesting mix of local and French: mainly Blaufränkisch, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and Zweigelt for the black grape varieties; Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Grüner Veltliner, Muscat, Riesling, and Scheurebe for the white grape varieties.

Growing Methods

Christian is very committed to working in the vineyard and cultivates a certain (calculated) nonchalance in winemaking. It's the vine that counts; it's where the essentials happen. Christian says he spends as little time as possible in the winery "where it's cold and dark" and as much time as possible in the vineyard "where everything is green and bright." The cultivation of protective plants for the space between the vines is immediately noticeable: during the growing season, the soil is covered with vegetation. This process encourages biodiversity and stimulates the vine's root system, encouraging it to dig deep into the soil to find nutrients. No chemical inputs are used: no weedkillers (obviously), no pesticides, no fertilizers, only homemade biodynamic preparations. The harvest, entirely manual, is preceded by a scrupulous inspection of the grapes' ripeness, by tasting the berries rather than conducting laboratory tests.

Winemaking

Christian enjoys experimenting with new methods, as long as they remain far removed from modern technology. More involved in the vineyard than in the winery, as mentioned above, he strives to combine ancestral methods with a studied form of laissez-faire: for example, he attributes the secret of his wines to a certain vertical press. This original tool, a modern version of an old screw press, exerts only very light pressure and extracts only the best juice from the grapes. The remaining must and marc undergo a biodynamic preparation designed to care for the vines. The harvest is sometimes destemmed by hand, sometimes undestemmed, sometimes both within the same vintage. Foot-treading is practiced for all vintages; fermentation (using indigenous yeasts) takes place in closed vats located outdoors and in the shade. Racking, if necessary, is done solely by gravity, and the wines are aged in large Stockinger foudres specially made for Christian. The wines mature there for a long time, sometimes five years, in contact with oxygen, an important detail for the winemaker. Bottling takes place when he considers the wine ready. Blends are most often co-fermented, Christian being convinced that the different elements of a wine should get to know each other as early as possible rather than leaving the winemaker to make the decision before bottling, which, moreover, is not accompanied by any filtration or addition of sulfur.

The Wines

Christian cultivates his eleven hectares in a range of microcuvées, each equally brilliant. The reds are generally single-varietal; white blends are more common. Whatever the wines, they are remarkable for their balance, drinkability, and finesse. They are also great wines for laying down, retaining their freshness, liveliness, and structure for a long time. Renowned for their fluid quality (they change their purpose in the glass from minute to minute), they reflect the sensitivity and natural intuition of their creator: "Let it flow... Leave everything to the play of natural forces... No strict order, no rules, no dogma."