Andreas Tscheppe
Andreas Tscheppe is making beautiful examples of natural wine in Styria, in very much the same spirit as Franz Strohmeier and Sepp Muster. These vineyard sites are gorgeously terraced and are bursting with life: butterflies, dragonflies and beetles are just a few of the creatures you will find while walking through these vines, and they are all represented on the labels of his wines. Andreas works only with white grapes, some of which are fermented with the skins to produce orange wines. All the winemaking involves a minimum of 18 months time in barrel for the wines to integrate with oxygen well and come into their own before being bottled.
Enjoy a quick introduction story on Andreas, his beautiful place and wines
Blue Dragonfly — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 10+ years
Soil: limestone/opok. Estate-owned, farmed organically by Andreas himself
Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are pressed to 300-2000 liter 2-15 year old barrels where they ferment spontaneously. The wine rests in the same barrels for 18 months and is bottled unfined and unfiltered, usually with no SO2 addition.
Personality: very elegant expression of the variety – light, elegant, graceful and not too aromatic, which makes it perfect with any light dish.
Green Dragonfly — Back to the top
Age of Vines: planted in 2006
Soil: limestone/opok. Estate-owned, farmed organically by Andreas himself
Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are pressed to a mix of neutral barrels where they ferment spontaneously. The wine is racked 3 times and a small amount of sulfur is added during vinification to preserve freshness. The wine rests in the same barrels for 18 months and is bottled unfined, unsulfured and unfiltered.
Green Dragonfly Plus — Back to the top
During the harvest of 2021, a tempest with heavy rain and a significant temperature drop came when the wines were fermenting in Andreas’s new cellar which wasn’t completely finished back then. As a result, the fermentation stopped its usual pace and became very slow instead. As a solution, Andreas bottled the wine with the remaining residual sugar under crown caps, to let them finish the fermentation in the bottle and develop a bit of fizz. To distinguish this “cellar calamity edition” from the “regular” Green Dragonfly (Grune Libelle) cuvée made in other vintages, the word “plus” is stated on the back label.
Age of Vines: planted in 2006
Soil: limestone/opok. Estate-owned, farmed organically by Andreas himself
Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are pressed to old big barrels where they fermented spontaneously. As the fermentation stopped due to weather damage and severe temperature drop in the cellar, the wine was finally bottled in March 2023 with the remaining RS under crown cap, to finish the fermentation there. Unfined and unfiltered, 5ppm sulfur added at bottling.
Personality: creamy, lush with a touch of the Sauvignon aromatics and a nice little fizz. Fresh and bright thanks to good balance of sugar and naturally high acidity, courtesy of Andreas’s top-notch, empathetic farming.
Salamander — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 6-12 years
Soil: limestone/opok. Estate-owned, farmed organically by Andreas himself
Varieties: Chardonnay
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are pressed to a mix of neutral barrels in mixed sizes, where they ferment spontaneously. The wine rests in the same barrels for 18 months, with several rackings, and is bottled unfined and unfiltered and with zero sulfur added.
Salamander Plus — Back to the top
During the harvest of 2021, a tempest with heavy rain and a significant temperature drop came when the wines were fermenting in Andreas’s new cellar which wasn’t completely finished back then. As a result, the fermentation stopped its usual pace and became very slow instead. As a solution, Andreas bottled the wine with the remaining residual sugar under crown caps, to let them finish the fermentation in the bottle and develop a bit of fizz. To distinguish this “cellar calamity edition” from the “regular” Salamander cuvée made in other vintages, the word “plus” is stated on the back label.
Soil: limestone/opok. Estate-owned, farmed organically by Andreas himself
Age of Vines: 6-12 years
Varieties: Chardonnay
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are pressed to old big barrels where they fermented spontaneously. As the fermentation stopped due to weather damage and severe temperature drop in the cellar, the wine was finally bottled in March 2023 with the remaining RS under crown cap, to finish the fermentation there. Unfined and unfiltered, 5ppm sulfur added at bottling.
Personality: floral, quince-like aromas with a touch of apple and earthy minerality. The mouth is full of fruit notes, from pears to apricots and citrus; slightly fizzy and perfectly balanced between laser-sharp acidity and a bit of RS (hence also the trocken – dry – category stated on the back label). The winemaker swears that pairing it with grilled asparagus, boiled new potatoes and hollandaise is a match made in heaven, as both the wine and the dish mingle lemony freshness with buttery creaminess.
Butterfly — Back to the top
Varieties: Yellow (Gelbe) Muskateller
Soil: limestone/opok. Estate-owned, farmed organically by Andreas himself
Age of Vines: 20+ years
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are pressed to 1000 liter 19 year old barrels where they ferment spontaneously. The wine is racked 3 times and a small amount of sulfur is added during vinification to preserve freshness. The wine rests in the same barrels for 18 months and is bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Butterfly Plus — Back to the top
During the harvest of 2021, a tempest with heavy rain and a significant temperature drop came when the wines were fermenting in Andreas’s new cellar which wasn’t completely finished back then. As a result, the fermentation stopped its usual pace and became very slow instead. As a solution, Andreas bottled the wine with the remaining residual sugar under crown caps, to let them finish the fermentation in the bottle and develop a bit of fizz. To distinguish this “cellar calamity edition” from the “regular” Butterfly cuvée made in other vintages, the word “plus” is stated on the back label.
Varieties: Yellow (Gelbe) Muskateller
Soil: limestone/opok. Estate-owned, farmed organically by Andreas himself
Age of Vines: 20+ years
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested and destemmed. The grapes are pressed to old big barrels where they fermented spontaneously. As the fermentation stopped due to weather damage and severe temperature drop in the cellar, the wine was finally bottled in March 2023 with the remaining RS under crown cap, to finish the fermentation there. Unfined and unfiltered, 5ppm sulfur added at bottling.
Personality: aromatic nose giving away the variety, albeit in a very subtle way. Jasmine, elderflower notes dance in a very light texture with refreshing finish.
Macerated Butterfly — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 13 years
Soil: limestone/opok
Varieties: Gold Muskateller
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested ferment in 225 and 600 liter liter 13-19 year old barrels where they ferment spontaneously, on the skins for 3 weeks, during which time pigeage is performed to extract tannin and color from the skins. The wine is racked 3 times. The wine rests in the same barrels for 18 months and is bottled unfined and unfiltered and with zero sulfur added.
Stag Beetle — Back to the top
Age of Vines: 7-35 years
Soil: limestone/opok
Varieties: 60 % Sauvignon blanc, 40 % Chardonnay
Vinification Method: Grapes are hand harvested ferment in 600 liter liter 10-19 year old barrels as whole bunches where they ferment spontaneously, on the skins for 5 weeks. The wine is racked 2 times. The wine rests in the same barrels for 18 months and is bottled unfined and unfiltered and with zero sulfur added.