This week happens to see an influx of some of the coolest drops around these days, which happen to hail from the green hills of Austria. A veritable organic wonderland between the Alps and the plains of Eastern Europe which has all the ingredients to make it the next wine powerhouse; cool climate in the face of rising global temps, young and interesting soils, and of course a swathe of near forgotten indigenous varieties that are well adapted and full of acidity and tension. Strap on your lederhosen we're going to Austria.
LAKE WINES
Alexander and Maria Koppitsch are part of a very groovy winegrowing scene down in Neusiedl am See, in the Burgenland region of Austria. This part of the world is a particularly lovely hamlet of idyllic organic farming in a country that is a beacon of sustainable practice, try and find someone spraying chemicals in Austria, it’s not easy. Part of what makes this area perfect for wine growing, aside from the mild climate, is the mix of soils - limestone, gravel, sand and clay which are the main focus of the Koppitsch wines. They’ve moved away from bottling by grape variety and toward blends that highlight the dirt in specific vineyards around lake Neudsiedl.
You have to taste these wines to appreciate the energy and life around here. They’re buzzing with it, the wines are electric. Their preference for zero addition winemaking contributes to the sense of bottled energy here, there’s a lightness and depth that is both uncanny and very natural. Austrian natural wines are adored for this very quality and in terms of value, they’re spot on.
We are very pleased to offer the full gamut from the Koppitsches, including a park wines pack of their juiciest cuvees which feature lakeside vistas and pictures of soil on their label and a few of their fancier cuvees Touch and Perspektive Weiss.
In store and online now.
'Their preference for zero addition winemaking contributes to the sense of bottled energy here, there’s a lightness and depth that is both uncanny and very natural'
OPOK-ALYPSE NOW
In the hills of South Styria lies the yin to Burgenland’s yang - stony, intense wines of pristine mineral beauty compared to the fleshy fruit sherbet hits of lake Neudsiedl. Two producers in particular have been carving a reputation out of the steep green hillsides here. Sepp Muster and Ewald Tscheppe are brothers in-law and separately are some of the trailblazers of biodynamic farming and hands-off winemaking in Austria. Given the quality these are not that widely known in the wine world, but for a select group of those who have tasted them. Their almost cult acclaim is due to the fact that these are insane wines. Styria is similar to the Jura in the sense that it used to be an inland sea, so the marine limestone and clay-silt soils they call 'Opok' combine to give whites of beautiful acidity and length. Also like the Jura, these white wines, mostly from Chardonnay ('Morillon' locally) and Sauvignon, are lighting bolts of tension, smoky, flinty mineral reduction and mouth coating fullness. There's no funk here, no volatility or mousiness. These are serious natural wines made with diligence and carefully barrel-aged for as long as the particular parcel requires, think Ganevat or Labet.
We're very pleased to have them back in the shop, this time around we have the2017 Ex Vero I from Werlitsch and the2018 Opokfrom Muster. Don't sleep.
WHAT IF BIGFOOT *IS* BLURRY
It would be poor form not to mention some home grown heaters this week, and we have just the thing, a massive new drop from South Australia's most tropical winemakers Yetti and the Kokonut. Dave Geyer and Koen Janssens as usual are off on some whole other thing, making crazy juicy wines from Doradillo and Red Muscat... just your basic. They search out the weird and wonderful from across SA's wine regions and always manage to make something that is fresh, light and slurpy with a real fruit salad energy. As you can see from the above photo they like them orange, and this release sees their first red wine, the Red Muscat which fits perfectly with the rest of their ouevre, exotic.
Have you checked out our Curated Packs? During the pandemic this has become a big thing and with good reason... Grab yourself one of these to enjoy discounts on selections that wouldn't normally see them. Wines that we've picked around the shop just because we like them, you'd be mad not to.
We recently added Sundays into the mix so now we're delivering every afternoon except Mondays. If you're within 15km of Melbourne CBD and order before 1pm you'll get the wine before dinner time FREE.
THE AOW SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE
We've streamlined our subscription offerings to focus on getting the absolute best wines we can to our subscribers, whose loyalty and vision will always be rewarded with insane value wines and first looks at things that are yet to be released. Jump on here and give it a try, you won't be disappointed.
We have from the outset prided ourselves on having the best monthly subscription wine service in the game. We take this so seriously that each and every month we convene a panel of expert wine industry folk around a cheese board at Sam's house for a tasting selection panel. No punches are pulled, frankly it's brutal. So the wines that go in our monthly packs are certified FIRE.
