Taste and Tour Small Organic Wineries with a Winemaker

Krems an der Donau

Krems an der Donau, Austria

The Donau River will guide us during our tour of the wine region. About 2.5 hours will be on the tour and 30 minutes will be spent driving between the different locations.

We will drive up from sea level about 400 meters through a few wining roads to visit Kapitel Zwei Wine, a micro-winery in the region. Kapitel Zwei or “Chapter Two” is an experiment to organically and sustainably grow French grape varietals, including Chenin Blanc, Roussanne and Sémillon, and age them in amphora and steel tanks in Krems an der Donau, Austria. The grapes will be handpicked from a single vineyard or “ried” called Kremsleithen. It was abandoned decades ago and was replanted in May 2022. Kremsleithen is derived from the steep slope (“Leiten” in German) that runs down to the river Krems. It was first mentioned in records dating back to 1266 and is located at 300 meters above sea level and composed of loamy, sandy soil and clay.

The winery Mantlerhof is situated in the municipality of Gedersdorf, close to the river Kamp right before it merges with the Danube. In the west one may see the lights of the city Krems, east one may glimpse the towers of Grafenegg. If you draw closer to the traditional winery you’ll arrive at the village center of Brunn im Felde. Amid this village lies a lovely pond, at the western side of this pond is an old manor with an early classicist facade. This old manor is called “Mantlerhof” a small family-owned winery with long history. Family Mantler worked the Mantlerhof for over 200 years and roots its winemaking heritage back to 1365. We work 15ha of vineyards, where they produce long-lasting organic wines. Their focus lies on Grüner Veltliner and Roter Veltliner

Schoenberg am Kamp

Schoenberg am Kamp, Austria

Ulrike Filp and Robert Bormuth, together their friends and family, are the people behind Weingut Feldtheorie. During their studies of natural sciences, they discovered a love for wine while on a trip to New Zealand. Once they finished their studies they knew: that winemaking would be the focus of their lives going forward. They traveled abroad for internships in Germany, Australia, and Austria before finally settling in Wachau. Once the opportunity arose to buy their own parcels of vineyards in neighboring Kamptal they didn’t hesitate. Together they work in the cellar and vineyards trying to achieve one goal: passing on the uniqueness of the Kamptal through our wines to everyone.

We will visit the sparkling winery, WeinSchach. WeinSchach is convinced that nature has everything an extraordinary wine needs to offer. They believe that wine should then unfold freely in the bottle. Develop its full aroma and find its balance. The goal is a Pet Nat on equal footing with the great sparkling wines of this world. To achieve this, they are experimenting. They want to get to the bottom of possibilities. Even if that sometimes means - back to the start. They are convinced that these experiences result in great wines. And the logical consequence is that they work biologically in the production of their sparkling wines, harvested by hand and de gorged.

We will finish the tour with a short 7-10 minute walk through some vineyards to a viewing point looking over the region.