Gerhard Pittnauer, St Laurent vom Dorf 2019

Grapes for this wine are hand harvested from a mix of vineyards, Salzbergacker, Goldberg & Edelgrund, where there's a decent amount of gravel which provides better drainage through the humus and iron-rich soil. Fermentation and aging occurs in 500L neutral barrels (12 months).

This estate is run by husband and wife team Gerhard & Brigitte Pittnauer. Having taken over the winery in the mid-1980’s after the unexpected death of his father, Gerhard, then 18 years old, had to train himself to make wine in the midst of scandal and chaos in the Austrian wine market. He set forth to ‘grow’ wine from local grape varietals rather than to ‘make’ it in the cellar. 

The Pittnauers farm 15 hectares, half of which owned and half of rented, biodynamically. All work is done manually from composting to pruning. There is no calendar that drives them. Nothing is rushed: they believe in quality over speed. They are making wines that excite them with the unique voice of the varietal and the deep limestone soils of the terroir speaking clearly. Gerhard and Brigitte are aware of the evolution of their tastes as well as the vineyard’s.