Fritz Wieninger: “Viennese people hate sweetness in wine and so do I”
Fritz Wieninger has been crafting biodynamic wines from either side of the river Danube, in his hometown of Vienna, since 1987. He took over from his father, and has the benefit of a family winemaking history that dates back to the eighteenth century. Yet this is an urban winery, located within the Austrian capital, which creates its own, unique challenges.
Partner story with Weingut Wieninger.
“My family is from Vienna, the vineyards of my family are in Vienna, my roots are in Vienna and so it was always clear: I would make wine in Vienna,” says Fritz Wieninger, who has helmed his family estate since 1987, achieving organic and biodynamic certification in 2011.
The estate is one of the most respected in the area, and Fritz has been chairman of the Viennese Traditional Wine Estates association, which works to classify Vienna’s Erste Lagen (“Premier Cru”) vineyards, since its creation in 1992.
Weingut Wieninger’s vineyards are located in Bisamberg, on the eastern bank of the Danube on the outskirts of Vienna, and on the other side of the river, in Nussberg. The variations in these sites’ terroirs is paramount for creating characterful wines. “ My vision is to show what is Viennese in the wine,” explains Fritz. “With every sip, you enjoy Vienna.”
Single-vineyard Pinot Noirs
The estate’s two new Pinot Noir bottlings exhibit the traits of their two opposing river sites in intriguing single-vineyard expressions.
“At the Nussberg (right bank) we have limestone with flysch,” says Fritz, “a very old sandstone with marl and quartz veins and quite a high clay content. This produces a darker flavoured, spicy and more concentrated style of Pinot Noir. An old vineyard in the Ried Preussen was recrafted and is now the source of this wine. Fermented in small stainless tanks with around 35% of stems, it is aged after pressing in a concrete egg. So this wine never sees any oak!
“The best Pinot Noir vineyard at the left bank at the Bisamberg is the Ried Rothen. Young vines, but planted extremely narrow with more than 10,000 vines per hectare, bring us very mature grapes with an extremely low yield per vine. The soil is very light and sandy, like loess, and also very high in chalk content with a lower level of clay. This produces very elegant and silky styles of Pinot Noir. There is more freshness due to higher acidity, and a more dancing, or vibrant, expression on the palate. Again we use about 35% of stems in fermentation, and the wine is aged in a used 600-litre barrel, not neutral but far away from intense oak flavours.”
The winemaker’s perspective
Why persevere with an urban winery?
“I am an urban person, I grew up in Vienna, enjoying the nightlife of a two million-person city (not just on Saturdays). And the winery of my family was here. This is something you cannot change. There is a history of wine in Vienna. There are great terroirs on both sides of the Danube River. There is a big market just in front of the door. There was never the question to go somewhere [else] and try it out there.”
What is the history of Weingut Wieninger?
“There was wine in my family for generations but, as is usual in Vienna, the business model was the Heuriger, a type of a wine tavern where you sell your wine directly to the consumers. My parents were very successful with that and I grew up with it. I knew early on that this would not be my life, and so I started to make wine after my studies, starting in 1987, and tried to sell it to the finest tables of the country. That worked out, not from one day to the other but consistently – I was put on more and more fine wine lists.”
What challenges does an urban winery create and how do you address them?
“There are positive effects and negative ones of being in a big city with your winery: there is a big market in front of the door, but there are also a lot of people around, who want no noise in the vineyards, no dust, no traffic of vineyard workers on their beloved hiking roads that lead them through our vineyards, but also my workers from one vineyard to the next.”
Do you have to craft your viticulture and viniculture based on your location?
“There is no specific difference if the vineyards or sites are in a city or in the countryside. But of course if you want to respect your people, who live nearby – and there are a lot of them – you [have to] produce wines that are loved by these people. Viennese people hate sweetness in wine and so do I. Wine that is too light is as bad as wine that is too heavy. I grew up with this, I was formed by this; well, I am a true Viennese and my taste is similar to this, so that influenced my winemaking for sure, very strongly.”
How would you describe your wines?
“I’ve always tried to find balance in the vineyards – a bit of stress, but not too much; good yields, but not too much. Since I am working after biodynamic principles, even the colours of the leaves or of the whole vineyard do matter very much. Balance is the thing in the vineyard and also in the wine.
“The wines I like are not thin and watery. These wines have some grip and multilayered flavours. And character. The result of a super aromatic dry yeast is not what I am looking for – I want the flavours of the vineyard, of each distinct site. I want individuality and terroir.
“And my wines have to improve with age – this is what I like.”
And specifically, what about your two Pinot Noir wines, from either side of the river?
“Both Pinot Noirs are very special and quite different, due to the different terroirs the vineyards are situated at. I am very happy to be able to show the world the great ability of the Viennese sites for great Pinot Noirs. I personally love Pinot Noir and I see a great future in this variety in the Vienna region.”
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