Who
Chances are you’ve seen these bottles at your favorite wine spot, or popping up in your social feed. The cloudy, hazy, bright orange of the Weißer Mulatschak, or the light ethereal pink of the Prosa Frizzante Rosé glowing from the shelf, and they *almost* always feature a cow- either standing stately and centered neatly on the bottle, or bucking and kicking just teasing you to pop it open. This is Meinklang, one of our favorite producers here at Wine Mouth, and who we are thrilled to be hosting (virtually) on February 27th. Lets dig a little deeper into Meinklang before we all share a few glasses together.
Where
Meinklang is a family run farm/vineyard/winery in the East Austrian wine region of Burgenland. The farm is located in “the World Heritage Site of the National Park Neusiedlersee, on the Eastern side of the Neusiedlersee Lake, bordering directly on the Hungarian lowlands.” I’m quoting Meinklang directly here, because the location is so key to their whole philosophy, so we’ve got to get it right.
What
With the farm and winery situated right on the Austrian/Hungarian border, both country's winemaking histories have left their mark on Meinklang. Prominent Austrian grapes such as Grüner Veltliner and Hungarian grapes like Hárslevelű shine in these wines. Blending these winemaking histories and upholding their dedication to keeping their winemaking deeply in line with its natural, historical ways of production is what makes their wines truly unforgettable.
How
The work begins with the land when it comes to Meinklang. The land and wine are so connected that they refer to the vineyard as the “Wein-Garten”, because among the vines are hefty cover crops, fruit trees, and other flora and fauna that provide for rich growing soil.
Biodynamic Agriculture is key to the land and fruit that they grow on it. Biodynamic Agriculture is an organic way of growing that was developed in the 1920s from the work of the Austrian scientist and philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Unlike most modern organic ways of growing, Biodynamic Agriculture looks beyond natural ways of treatment, and rather starts at the beginning with prevention. It dives into the connection between the growing land, the greater land of the earth, and even the earth’s connection in the greater universe. In addition to their use of cover crops, fertilization plays a key role in preparing and maintaining soil. The fertilizer comes from their own livestock, in fact, it's the same livestock that grace most of their bottles.
The natural focus doesn’t end in the vineyard, it extends to their cellar practice as well. They are working with natural and spontaneous fermentation, avoiding fining, and utilizing little-to-no sulphur. What's produced after all of this time and care, are these beautiful wines that highlight the fine details and nuances of these different grapes and the land from which they come.
Join us virtually for Meinklang @ Wine Mouth on February 27th at 6pm
Meinklang is represented in Singapore by Cogito Wines
February 25, 2021 - Caitlin Schriner
