Preisinger Claus

Claus Preisinger takes us to Austria, to the northern part of Burgenland, and precisely to the village of Gols near Lake Neusiedlersee. Claus represents a new generation of young, lively and energetic artisan winemakers who are in love with their land. His introduction to the vineyard was originally a family affair, which he started as a hobby but quickly turned into a lifelong passion. The year 2000 (a great year!) saw his first harvest and from that moment on, Claus understood what he really wanted to be when he grew up: a winemaker. His father's 3 hectares have now grown to 19, which are divided into a further 64 micro-plots stretching from one side of the 'Pannobile Land' to the other. This certainly makes the work more demanding (with the need for a Land Rover to cover the distances), yet increases the variety and biodiversity of the grapes harvested in the different micro-terroirs. Here, only local varieties are grown, such as the Gruner Veltliner and Weissburgunder for the white grapes, and Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch and St. Laurent for the red grapes.

For Claus, producing wine requires a few fixed guidelines: in the vineyard, Rudolf Steiner inspires agricultural and manual methods; in the cellar, a purist, non-interventionist style of winemaking is adopted; in life, the art of lightness is practised, without complications, anxieties and regrets. Making wine is not just a matter of relying on the mind, on formulas and on rationality, but allowing the heart to reason, and letting it beat to the same frequencies as the vineyard.

Claus Preisinger has found himself producing wine in a land of great prestige and production quality, and has decided to forge an absolutely unique and singular bond with it. He has distanced himself from the great wines of his region and continues with his idea of presenting only the purest aspect of himself in the bottle. He was the first to believe in maceration on the skins of white grape varieties in containers that had never before been used in Austria, such as Georgian amphoras. In 2009, he was the one who released the first orange Weissburgunder wine, personally taking responsibility, criticism and ultimately success.

What could be nicer than working in nature, without having to deal with city traffic on the way to the office? For Claus, there is no greater privilege than to live while looking out at the horizon and letting the sky determine his destiny.