Alexander Zahel (Vienna, AUSTRIA)
Vienna’s Gemischter Satz is one of only 300 products worldwide that SlowFood awarded its Ark of Taste award, created to protect high-quality and traditionally produced foods for future generations in the face of industrialized agriculture and big business.
The Zahel family was the first to ever bottle Gemischter Satz, capturing the spirit of Vienna’s local wine taverns (Heurigers) which began when Emperor Joseph II's ordinance of 1784 allowed Austrians to sell home-made food, wine, and the convivial spirit of Viennese Gemütlichkeit (warmth, friendliness, and good cheer).
Limestone hills overlooking the city of Vienna
Gemischter Satz The famous field blend grown within city limits of Vienna, the six grapes of this Gemischter Satz (Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Traminer, and Chardonnay) are grown on limestone and sandstone terraces at 330 meters overlooking downtown Vienna. Grown together and then picked on the same day, this electric white is then co-fermented dry using only native, wild yeasts. (pdf tech sheet)
Orange-traube Originating from wild vines, Orangetraube was first selected as a recognized varietal in 1840 and has been a part of the Zahel family's field blends (Gemischter Satz) since the winery began in 1930, but only produced as a monovarietal white since 1954. Two generations later, Alexander Zahel is the last remaining producer of this unique treasure of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
A “mixed set” (Gemischter Satz) of up to twenty different allowed cépages.
Großlage Nussberg (Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC) "From 40-year-old vines of predominately Chardonnay with Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Grauburgunder (Pinot Gris) grown in the Nussberg hill, fermented on the skins for 36-hours, then aged in Stockinger barrels with malolactic completed. The Nussberg has a complex terroir of deep ""Muschelkalk"" Kalksteinverwitterungsboden (limestone-weathered soil with increased clay content) with calcareous sandstone and marl ""flysch;"" formed more than 60 million years ago.” (pdf tech sheet)
Kaasgraben Nussberg (Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC) The Ried Kaasgraben is a tiny plot within the 19th district of Vienna, adjacent to the renowned Nussberg hill. The geological formation here is the last limestone foothills of the Alps, dating back to the same era as the French regions of Burgundy and Champagne. This bottling comes from a NE-exposure planted to Chardonnay, Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Rotgipfler, Zierfandler, Neuburger, Gewürtztraminer, Weißburgunder, Grauburgunder, and Roter Veltliner, all of which are de-stemmed before spontaneous fermentation and aging in 600L Stockinger Austrian foudres. Alex recommends pairing the local Tafelspitz (Austria's version of pot au feu) or asparagus dishes with Kaasgraben for maximum pleasure. (pdf tech sheet)
Alex’s grandmother Irmhilde in the kitchen of their Heuriger. Her beloved plum-filled Buchteln are reason enough to visit Vienna.
Goldberg Laaerberg (Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC) "The Goldberg vineyard has the highest elevation of Vienna's Oberlaa district, and Alex's ""Laaerberg"" parcel comes from a sunny south-facing exposition that overlooks the Vienna Central Cemetery and has a unique terroir of black earth with limestone-rich loam on top, with ice-age gravel and a high iron content after 20cm deep. Planted to 80+ year-old vines with a mix of 13 different varieties, pressed over 24-hours on the lees, then fermented spontaneously in large Stockinger foudres. The vibrant golden color and lively quince, yellow fruit, and citrus aromas frame a full-bodied white with tons of spice, persistent acidity (5,9 g/L) and a long terroir-driven finish." (pdf tech sheet)
Kroissberg Maurerberg (Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC) From Vienna's second-highest location, the Kroissberg vineyard in Maurer has a base of flysch sandstone with schist in the topsoil and Dolomitic limestone below, and is surrounded by the Vienna woods that create a special microclimate. This vineyard has 11 different grape varieties (Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Neuburger, Furmint, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Zierfandler, Rotgipfler, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewürztraminer) that are fermented in used French oak (225L Chassin barrels) and used Stockinger Austrian oak demi-muids. (pdf tech sheet)
The fifth generation at Zahel
SEKT Brut Nature Sparkling Blanc de Blancs made from a mixed set (Gemischter Satz) of 7 grape varietes grown at almost 400 meters in the Ried Droissberg vineyard on sandstone, clay slate, and dolomitic limestone. Aged for six months on the lees in Stockinger foudres followed by a secondary spontaneous fermentation (dosage with Chardonnay juice from Ried Dolomitkalk) and then 24 months in bottle on fine lees until being disgorged on January 13th, 2023. (pdf tech sheet)
Reisberg Riesling Vinotheksfüllung "Grown on the most South-facing site in the South of Vienna, surrounded by the Vienna woods where cool winds combine with pure Dolomite limestone to provide a unique svelte character for Riesling. Planted to 45+ year-old vines, it was the first vineyard the Zahel family owned, and is still the favorite of Alex's grandmother, Irmhilde Zahel. The 2017 vintage was fermented using native yeasts, taking longer to mature (in 600L barrels that Stockinger crafted from Zahel's own 800-year-old Lainzer Tiergarten oak trees) and only now being released as a library Vinotheksfüllung. " (pdf tech sheet)
Grüner Veltliner hails from single-vineyard Goldberg in the Oberlaa region located in Vienna’s southeast. The Laaerberg in Oberlaa is Vienna’s highest terrace (270 meters), formed during the last ice age. Here, prevailing winds from the milder Burgenland region provide an idealclimate for this classic Austrian varietal. From 45+ year-old vines, the grapes are 12 hours in skin contact in the press before spontaneous fermentation from indigenous yeasts, and then aged for 6 months on the fine lees. (pdf tech sheet)