Producer Claus Preisinger

AUSTRIA, BURGERLAND

Claus Preisinger's winery is located in Gols in the Burgenland wine region, near the border with Hungary and Slovakia. He began to cultivate 3 hectares of vineyard as a hobby together with his father, but soon he turned into a real business he could not do without. In 2000 he released his first wine, and later bought other lands, coming to own 19 hectares of vines, spread over more than 60 different plots spread to the northeast, where limestone shale prevails, and to the west, where we find loose, sandy soils and silty, near Lake Neusiedlersee. All this fragmentation may seem excessive, but Claus replies that it is very stimulating to work with different types of soil and terroir because it is essential to express his philosophy of valorisation of the raw material at its best. In the vineyard he uses the principles of biodynamic agriculture inspired by Rudolf Stein; from the use of the preparations, to the use of homeopathic infusions. The cultivated vines are mainly red berry varieties, such as the autochthonous Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent, followed by Pinot Noir and Merlot, to which is added a small percentage of Chardonnay and Pinot bianco. In the cellar you work in a purist, absolutely non-interventionist way, aiming for quality, and often following your instinct, like when you were the first in Austria to macerate white wine in terracotta amphorae. His wines are pure and genuine with great personality and character, with a wide range of labels, which clearly express the natural, pure and territorial style of Claus and his cellar.