Johannes Trapl

From U.S. to Austria

California is the foremost state of wine making in the ‘new world’ wine industry and Johannes Trapl had a career there planned. He decided however to take a different path and go back to his roots, back to Austria. Reunited with his family he took over a tiny old vineyard that his grandfather once planted, here’s where his new exciting life started. He could finally express his ideas, his style working with local indigenous grape varieties. He soon realised that a half hectare wasn’t enough, in 2003 with his extra 10 hectares of vineyard his full-time wine making career could finally begin. At present he has a total of 15hectares, the vines are as old as 40 years.

Perfect climate and wonderful location

He stands out in the Carnuntum region for being one of the very few natural winemakers there. Located east of Vienna, in Lower Austria, this wine region stretches until the border to Slovakia. The vineyards benefit not only from the Pannonian climate (hot summers and cold winters), but also from the proximity of the Danube river and of the lake Neusidl. These allow the grapes to grow strong and healthy and reach their true potential. Farming organic since 2006 he took an extra step and 10 years later he got the biodynamic certificate. The indigenous grapes grow on a very rich and fertile soil, heavy loam, loess and sandy soils, granting the wine’s complexity and elegance.

Low intervention wines

Fresh and lively describe at best Johannes’s wines. He achieves these two features by harvesting quite early and by selecting the grapes twice during harvest. Only the “right” grapes get picked, the ones that taste ready. It is a longer and harder work but it allows a very accurate selection and the result can be perceived in his wines. Most of the grapes are crushed by foot, fermented with wild yeast in big vats or amphoras and finally they are matured in barrels to rest until their complex character takes shape.

Johannes Trapl website