Domäne Wachau strives for quality without compromise both in the vineyard and in the cellar. Together with significantly improved cooperation with grape growers and a competently employed vineyard quality assurance program, gentle vinification technique guarantee wines of precise and clear expression.
All of the Domäne Wachau wines and in particular the “Terrassen” and single-vineyard wines are never heady alcohol-laden wines, but fruity wines with firm mineral structure that have been highly influenced by primary rock soils. Finesse, not voluptuous body, is in the foreground and these wines offer tremendous drinking pleasure and fascinating elegance as accompaniment to food.
Domäne Wachau strives for authentic regional character in their wines. The Wachau and its marvellous vineyards should find precise definition and clear expression. Essential is persistent, stabile fruit and mineral character that continue with extended bottle ageing and mature into complex secondary aromas in our top wines. The superb ageing capability of selected Smaragd wines and their fascinating development in the bottle is an explicit goal in our wine making.
A core goal of our cooperative is the achievement of fair grape prices for our numerous growers that labour under the difficult conditions in the Wachau. Not only the hard work in the steep terraces, but also measures for preserving our cultural landscape should be rewarded. This goal and our commitment to the highest possible quality are behind all of our efforts.
Oenologist Heinz Frischengruber now sources from the best possible fruit thanks to the established reward system for growers as well as strict fruit delivery regulations. He handles these grapes gently and conscientiously while focusing on precision of expression.
Protective juice handling and reductive fermentation are practiced to promote the best primary fruit extraction. Juice clarification is given two days and the cool fermentation of clear must follows. Fermentation takes a bit longer at 16-18°C (Smaragd ferments slightly warmer). The wines are sulphured as late as possible to ensure stability. This practice often requires sensory control twice daily to select the perfect time for stabilization (and that with over 50 different wines in the cellar!).The addition of sulphur dioxide occurs later, up to six weeks after fermentation, for Smaragd wines.
Frischengruber’s focus is on the single-vineyard wines. These remain particularly long on the fine lees. Minimal manipulation is practiced to allow great wines their maximum potential for natural development.