Christian Tschida
Christian Tschida 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. He says the key to all his wines is the vertical basket press he uses. This tool is like a modern re-imagining of an old manual screw press. Christian says he uses very light pressure when he presses, comparable to the amount of pressure a hand shake would exert. By doing this he extracts only the best juice from the grapes. He then returns the must and remaining juice to the vines, in a special preparation he makes to aid the health of the vineyard.
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. As of the 2015 vintage, all of Christian’s wines are made without any additions of sulfur. The wines are never racked, and everything is bottled by hand to preserve the freshness of the wine and leave a little residual carbon dioxide to aid preservation.
Himmel auf Erden Weiss — Back to the top
Himmel auf Erden Weiss tech sheet
Varieties: 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.
Himmel auf Erden Rosé — Back to the top 
Varieties: 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 1 year aging in 500 to 1500-liter barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur.
Himmel auf Erden Maischevergoren — Back to the top 
Maischevergoren translates to “skin contact.”
Varieties: Scheurebe and several clones of Muscat
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot. Some of the skins are left in contact with the juice for 2 weeks, and some is left in contact for 4 weeks, making Christian’s only orange wine. 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.
Himmel auf Erden Red — Back to the top 
Varieties: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Zweigelt
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
Varieties: 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 I — Back to the top 
Varieties: Blaufrankisch
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 to 1500-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
Varieties: 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 no addition of sulfur.
Non-Tradition Weiss — Back to the top
Non-Traditional Weiss tech sheet
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: 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.
Brutal — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: Pinot Noir
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in 2 large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. It spends 1 year aging in barrel and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur. Bottled in magnum only.
Non-Tradition Red — Back to the top 
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: 100% Cabernet Franc
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in barrel with indigenous yeast and no racking. It spends 2 year aging in large Stockinger barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur.
Red Sonja — Back to the top 
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: 100% Cabernet Franc
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot gently to produce a light and juicy red wine. The juice ferments in barrel with indigenous yeast and no racking. The wine is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur.
Laissez Faire — Back to the top 
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: 100% Riesling
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 large Stockinger barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur.
Yummy Yummy — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: 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 year aging in large Stockinger barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur.
Hokus Pokus — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: Mostly Gruner Veltliner with a little Riesling
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 large Stockinger barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur. Bottled in magnum only.
Hokus Pokus Red — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: 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 1 year aging in large Stockinger barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur. Bottled in magnum only.
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: Blaufrankisch
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 large Stockinger barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur. Bottled in magnum only.
Birdscape — Back to the top
Birdscape is made with what Christian calls “Pink Maceration,” a very light extraction with just a small amount of contact with the skins, to result in a very dark rosé, or perhaps a very light red wine.
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: Blaufrankisch, Pinot Noir, and some white varieties
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. Christian made just one 3000 liter barrel of this wine. It is bottled without sulfur.
Engel auf Erden — Back to the top
Engel auf Erden, which translates to “Angel on Earth” is another riff on pink maceration, like Birdscape. It’s a bit closer to a red than the Himmel auf Erden Rosé but has the lift and acidity of a macerated wine.
Age of Vines: 40 years
Varieties: 100% Cab 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 is bottled without sulfur.