Hailing from the town of Breitenwaida, in northeast Austria, near the border with the Czech Republic, Ingrid Groiss crafts wines expressive of terroir, keeping with her family’s long tradition of winemaking. She is supremely passionate about her wines, with sustainable practices in the vineyard and minimal interference of modern technologies in the cellar. The matriarchy is very strong in Ingrid’s family with traditions of vineyard ownership and vineyard work having been handed down from mother to daughter. At this time the majority of the vineyard work is done by Ingrid and her mother, her mother spending sometimes 12 hours a day in the vineyard. Although Ingrid did not originally plan to become a winemaker and pursued other interests in a former life, the pull to continue to her family’s tradition of winzerin was too strong. Ingrid is passionate about producing quality wine and her relationship to the Weinvertel runs deep, with her family having owned and managed a traditional tavern or heuriger in Breitenwaida, for many years. The indigenous vineyard hare which graces her label and flourishes in her vineyards, symbolizes this connection and her dedication to harmony with nature. “. . . You have to do what you really want inside your heart.” – Ingrid Groiss
The Weinviertel
The oldest and the largest wine growing districtus in Austria, the Weinviertel, is where Ingrid Groiss calls home. The area spans from the Czech border in the north, the Danube in the south, the Slovakian border in the east, and Manhartsberg in the west.
Known for its classic peppery characteristic, or “pfefferl”, the region’s leading grape variety, Grüner Veltliner, made Austrian history as the first wine of origin in the DAC appellation system. The Weinviertel’s various microclimates and geological make up not only favor Grüner Veltliner, but also other varietals such as Riesling, Weisburgunder, and Welschriesling.
Gemischter Satz
In Austria, the crafting of a Gemischter Satz wine is known as the traditional practice of growing many different white grape varietals in one vineyard and fermenting or blending them together into one wine.
For a large part of the 19th century, mixed-vineyard farming was a preferred method in numerous wine regions due to the natural balance wines could have based on the combined characteristics of multiple grape varieties. Gemischter Satz is commonly associated with Vienna’s heuriger culture that allows families to sell their farm wares directly to consumers without interference from normal commerce rules. An early example of the now popular “farm to table” concept, the family heuriger or wine tavern, helped to preserve older vines, native varieties and aspects of traditional mixed agriculture. While most people seeking Gemischter Satz rightfully look to Vienna, these special wines can be found in appellations outside Vienna such as Weinviertel, Kamptal, and Thermenregion. Heurigers also are found all over Austria wherever the local wine culture is strong.
For more information on Gemischter Satz, read Eric Asimov’s article, “An Honest Day’s Work From Vienna” and Alder Yarrow’s article, “Wiener Gemischter Satz”
Glossary:
Winzerin: female winemaker
Heurigers: wine taverns used to sell local winemaker’s most recent year’s wine
Gemischter Satz: mixed plantings of different grape varieties.
Wiener: from Vienna
Gemischter Satz Dorflagen 2014
Gemischter Satz 17 different varieties (among them are really old autochthonous varieties like Hietl Rote, Silberweisse, Graue Vöslauer, Brauner Veltliner – varieties that are nearly extinct nowadays), grown and cultivated on Ingrid’s various vineyards sights of Schablau and Sauberg. Dorflagen is a generic term meaning “village” used to describe the cuvee of grapes from these single vineyards which lie in the separate villages of Breitenwaida and Paugsdorf respectively.
Soil: Chalky Conglomerate
Age of Vines: 50+ (planted by her granny)
Selective harvesting by hand
6 hour maceration on skins, pressing without stems
Fermented with vineyard yeasts in stainless steel
3 month on full lees
Alcohol 12,5%, Residual sugar 5,1 g/L, Acidity 7,4 g/L
