Christian Tschida
Christian Tschida (pronounced like cheetah) has the great fortune to cultivate 10-hectares of old vines that have been with his family for 4 generations, since the 19th century. The winery is located in the Neusiedler See part of Burgenland, the eastern most point of Austria, more traditionally known for red and sweet wine production. The vineyards consist of sandy gravel, schist and limestone, which all enjoy a moderating influence from the extremely large and nearby Lake Neusiedler. Christian takes a hands-off approach to winemaking, where the wines spend a great deal of time in barrel in contact with oxygen, some for as many as 5 years before bottling. Christian ferments all of his wines in closed top tanks that sit outside in the shade, in which the grapes are foot stomped. After which the juice is moved inside to barrel for aging, where many of the wines receive no addition of sulfur, except for some of the reds, which Christian feels would benefit from a small dose of sulfur at bottling.
Himmel auf Erden Weiss — Back to the top
Himmel auf Erden Weiss tech sheet
Varietals: Weissburgunder & Scheurebe
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. It spends 1 year aging in 500 to 1500-liter barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur.
Kapitel I — Back to the top
Varietals: Zweigelt/Cabernet Franc
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. It spends 2 years aging in 500 and 1200-liter barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur.
Felsen II — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 30 years old
Varietals: Syrah
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. It spends 2 years aging in 1200-liter barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and a small addition of sulfur.
Non-Traditional Weiss — Back to the top
Non-Traditional Weiss tech sheet
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varietals: Gruner Veltliner
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. Some barrels remain in contact with the skins for a short amount of time. It spends 1 year aging in barrel and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur.