Koppitsch, Touch Skin Contact 2021 750ml

Personality: A true balance of terroir characters here! The expressive character of the old vines of Gemischter Satz on rich soil combines with the delicate acidity of Welschriesling on limestone. “We’re playing around with carbonic maceration and length of skin contact, to have both the crispness and elegance as well as more earthy flavors and challenging fruit notes, typical for good skin-contact whites!”

Vineyard: The Welschriesling comes from Neuberg, a rocky limestone hill with very poor soil in the northwest of Neusiedl that is part of the Leithaberg mountains. The Gemischter Satz grows on the clay soil of the Schafbühl plot. A gentle southwest slope oriented towards the lake, planted more than 85 years ago.

Making of: Once hand-harvested, most of the grapes are destemmed and let to ferment in open-top vats; about 30% are kept as whole bunches for carbonic maceration. After a couple of days of maceration, the juice is taken off the mash and the remaining is pressed. Everything is blended into small oak barrels to finish fermentation naturally. Maturation on gross lees for about 10 months without any additives. No fining, no filtration, no temperature control at any stage of winemaking. The 2020 vintage was also made without any sulfur addition.

Winemaker's Note: “Have you ever had a glass of orange wine that did not touch you? Skin contact whites very often trigger intense reactions. Therefore our name, also referring to skin contact, obviously. The majestic bird on the label is great white egret, very common around the lake. He loves to visit our vineyards and we love to watch him during take-off.”