Stephanie and Eduard, the lovely young couple behind Gut Oggau, have restored a 17th century vineyard in Burgenland, Austria. The internationally acclaimednatural winemakers have quickly become famous for their dynasty, their bottles labelled with “the faces”. The juice which the three generations are shielding is no less remarkable: exciting, unfiltered natural cuvées!
Stephanie and Eduard, the couple behind Gut Oggau, have thrown themselves into a huge venture back in 2007 when they turned the 17th-century vineyard into an insolently modern one.
Gut Oggau Winery
As the terroir had been untouched for 20 years, they had the perfect chance to start with biodynamic farming right away. What’s more, they managed to restore a 200-year old wine press – embodying the dawn of something truly unique.
Stephanie comes from a culinary background, her family standing behind the Michelin star restaurant, Taubenkobel in Burgenland, Austria; while Eduard had experience with conventional farming.
Labels
Natural wine fanatics must already recognize the distinctive Gut Oggau labels: each one featuring a face sketch, visualizing the wine’s special characteristics. This unparalleled family tree forms a dynasty of carefully crafted products.
Stephanie and Eduard manage three – what they call – generations of wines: the grandchildren, the young generation, and the grandparents. While Winifred, Theodora, and Atanasius are (and taste) easy and playful, Mechtild and Bertholdi represent the wisdom in the family. The latter grows on single vineyards and stems from some 60-year-old vines. The middle line unites a good variety of natural white and red cuvées from Weissburgunder to Blaufränkisch.
Gut Oggau Maskerade
And then there are the Maskerades… Also both a big natural white, rosé, and red wine hiding behind masks. Stephanie and Eduard have recently expanded their fields and started experimenting with the new harvests. These bottles must yet reveal themselves though, and therefore don’t officially belong to the dynasty – yet!
The Oggau' family find opportunities to express their creative minds even in difficult years. The year 2016, for example, was an unfortunate one in terms of weather. Hail and frost destroyed a huge amount of grapes. The result at the end was, however, much less disastrous: they created a so-called “family reunion”, high-quality white and red cuvée from the different vineyards. Creativity is their virtue!
