Bona Fide Naturalist

Named after the opok soils unique to this part of Austria, The 2018 Sauvignon Blanc vom Opok  is sourced from the lower part of Werlitsch’s hillside where the vines are around 30 years old. The fruit is directly pressed, stored in neutral oak, and that’s basically it. It goes through fermentation then rests on the lees with no interference for at least 18 months. This wine is a great introduction to Ewald’s other projects, including the Ex Vero series that scales higher up the hill and the skin-contact wines.

About Werlitsch

Ewald Tscheppe of Werlitsch in Styria, the southernmost wine region in Austria, perpetuates the dreamy biodynamic farm vibes coming from Eastern Europe. Really, Ewald is a true biodynamic geek.

His eight hectares of vines share a home with fruit trees, wild herbs and vegetables, and forest. He follows all of the “woo-woo” intricacies of preparations and compost teas and uses ground quartz and rainwater as “fungicide.” And absolutely no sulfur, ever. He’s referred to as an agronomist, an uncompromising naturalist, with the motto that nature always does it better.

Ewald and friends discovered biodynamics in the late 90s; he identified so deeply with the ethics of organic and biodynamic farming that despite his father’s wishes, he secretly started farming their vines this way in 2004. Coincidentally, his father passed away that year, which gave him the freedom to go full steam ahead.