Austria makes some fabulous wines from gruner veltliner. Mostly, they are crisp, slim, elegant and with a hint of spice. But if this is the base-point, there is a big variety of styles. One of the most original producers, as well as one of Austria’s leading wine producers, is Vitikultur Moser, today run by Niki Moser. His wines are a brilliant illustration of that “gruner”, or just GV, can be both classic and surprising and different. BKWine Magazine’s Britt went to Austria to meet Niki and taste the wines. As a bonus she discovered that there is much more to Austrian wines than gruner veltliner, not least when they come from Vitikultur Moser. Read the story here.
Vitikultur Moser makes wines that are often atypical. That does not bother Niki Moser, the owner. “Standardised is boring,” he says. His wines are personal, full of character, and delicious. That goes a long way.
Niki Moser is a leading advocate of organic and biodynamic farming in Austria. He has a deep-rooted love for all things that grow: trees, bushes, plants, flowers. He firmly believes that the vineyard is the true birthplace of a wine’s character.
This is a longer version of an article published on Forbes.com.
I met Nikolaus (Niki) Moser at the estate in Kremstal, outside the beautiful yellow Atrium House his grandfather built after World War II with undamaged parts from some of Vienna’s classicist buildings.
The Moser family is an old and well-known wine dynasty in Austria. Niki’s grandfather, who built the house, was Dr. Lenz Moser, who, in the 1950s, developed the well-known trellising system that bears his name. His son Sepp started his own business in 1980 (the company Lenz Moser developed in a different direction) with some fine vineyard locations in Kremstal and Burgenland. Sepp’s son Niki took over in 2000. A new generation is now on the estate through Niki’s daughters, Kathi and Mariana. Kathi is married to Jan from the Czech Republic, the estate’s winemaker.
Niki’s passion for the work in the vineyard is visible, especially when we are walking through one of his vineyards. Maybe that is why he recently changed the name of the estate. Previously, it was called Weingut Sepp Moser. Vitikultur Moser clearly emphasises the importance of the work in the field.
Vitikultur Moser has vineyards in two different locations: 22 hectares in Kremstal, Lower Austria, and 27 hectares at Neusiedler See in Burgenland. Grüner veltliner and riesling predominate in Kremstal and pinot blanc, chardonnay and zweigelt, a red variety, in the Burgenland estate.
Compensate for monoculture
Niki spends much of his time in the vineyard. “It is important to be present, so you know when to treat preventively,” he says. “Part of the problem today,” he says, “is that viticulture is a monoculture. Therefore, other plants are needed in and around the vineyard.”
Niki plants trees and bushes on his land and cover crop between the rows of vines. The cover crop must resist drought. It can be succulents or herbs, for instance. Diversity is essential; it attracts more insects. One problem is the red spider (a mite) that eats the buds on the vine. By introducing other plants, the red spider can feed on them instead.
Vitikultur Moser has been biodynamically certified with Demeter since 2005. Niki started experimenting with biodynamics around the year 2000. He was in France and met biodynamic growers in the late 1990s. He met Marc Kreydenweiss and Jean-Pierre Frick in Alsace, two leading figures in biodynamic viticulture. “These meetings were real eye-openers for me,” he says.
However, converting was not entirely straightforward, especially in the first year. His father said no, never organic. However, progress was made with small steps, and the 51 hectares were converted directly from conventional cultivation to biodynamic. “The conversion takes three years, but it actually takes longer for the vineyard to recover, maybe 7 to 8 years.”
Demeter controls the vineyard once a year, at least, both notified and unannounced. They take samples from the soil, the leaves, and the grapes. When asked if it costs more to be biodynamic, he says yes because it is more time-consuming.
“You have to be out in the vineyard more often. Weed control, e.g. takes more time because we are not allowed to use herbicides. Cutting the grass is more time-consuming. The hardest part is the slopes, especially if they are steep. Herbicides damage the soil, especially if you want to show terroir. The chemical industry has a great influence; it is important not to get dependent.”
He sprays with sulphur and copper (allowed in organic and biodynamic cultivation) and homoeopathic quantities of self-made plant decoctions and herbal teas. “Everything we use grows here: horsetail, wild sage, absinthe…”
Hi uses the biodynamic preparation 500 (Horn Manure) mainly in the spring — “it catches the earth’s forces”—and the 501 (Horn Silica) several times a year. “501 captures the summer light, concentrates the fruit, helps the veraison, and gives our grapes a beautiful colour.”
He does not consider himself esoteric (which some biodynamic growers are accused of being) but rather quite down to earth. He wants a healthy vineyard and believes biodynamic viticulture contributes to that. The goal is to achieve a balance between vines, the plants around, and the animals. When he started growing biodynamically, he noticed changes in the wines; they had more structure and a more distinct fresh acidity.
Vinification
Balance is a word Niki uses often. Niki and his team analyse the grapes before the harvest. The acidity is essential for the balance. It drops rapidly in a year as hot and dry as 2022. If you pick early, however, you can get unwanted green aromas in the wines. Niki tells me that in such a year, they often start early with the harvest, perhaps with a potential alcohol content of 11%. They then get a wine with good acidity that can be blended with wines from grapes they harvest later. The blend provides the balance.
The balance in the vineyard makes winemaking easier, he believes. And that’s the point. He wants to interfere as little as possible and keep all additives, including sulphur, to a minimum. “The wine should be made from grapes and preferably nothing else. At school, we were taught that it is impossible to make wine without sulphur, but it is possible”. However, he uses a little sometimes, if necessary.
Some fermentation and ageing are in wooden barrels, but they are large and do not impart oak flavours. The oak is not used for flavour but for the wine to breathe and become balanced. Mostly, the fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks. The white grapes are mostly de-stemmed but not crushed. They are pressed and then fermented in steel tanks or 500-litre oak barrels and remain on their lees for 14 months.
The lees have an anti-oxidising effect. The wine is bottled without filtration or fining and with no or very little sulphur. “With oak ageing, no filtration is needed,” says Niki. Natural sedimentation occurs, and our wines are not cloudy but completely clear.
The wines always ferment spontaneously with the wild yeast. “Fermentation starts quickly with yeast flying around.”
As I said at the beginning, Vitikultur Moser makes different Austrian wines. In part, it is a more oxidative style with more developed fruit. “The oxidation is important,” says Niki. The wines are in contact with their lees for a long time, from fermentation and throughout storage, often for a year. “We want our wines to open up over time. The wines will have a good ageing potential and often acquire a Burgundian style over the years”.
He doesn’t rely only on analyses. Tasting is essential, as is having experience. The son-in-law is the winemaker, and they make decisions together. Each wine is treated as a personality. “We taste a lot, trust our gut feeling and are not too technical.”
The Kremstal wines
Vitikultur Moser Grüner Veltliner von den Terrassen 2021
The soil here in Kremstal is loess mixed with quartz and crumbled limestone. “It’s a really interesting soil,” says Niki, “which was blown here from the Alps 30,000-70,000 years ago.” The wine is fermented in steel tanks and is relatively light in style. It is a classic grüner Veltliner with a good body, a little spicy and dry, with flavours of ripe fruit, melon, peach, and yellow apples (15 euro).
Vitikultur Moser Grüner Veltliner Ried Breiter Rain 2019
A complex and expressive wine from a single vineyard (Ried). Taste of white pepper (signum character for grüner veltliner), Provençal herbs, and fresh grapefruit and tangerine. Lovely mouth feel (26 euro).
Vitikultur Moser Grüner Veltliner Ried Gebling 2022
Pleasant, rather discreet nose with a big, full-bodied taste of yellow fruits and a lovely juicy fruitiness that lingers for a long time. (22 euros).
Vitikultur Moser Riesling Von den Terrassen 2022
The estate’s Riesling wines are always completely dry; they ferment as long as necessary. With a lot of apricots, peaches, and citrus fruit, this is a flavourful wine in a personal style (15 euros).
Vitikultur Moser Riesling Ried Gänstreiberin Reserve 2020
This wine showcases a rather exotic style of riesling. The grapes ferment in Austrian oak barrels, undergo malolactic fermentation, and stay in the barrels for 18 months. The taste is creamy and mouth-filling. It lingers and is dry and round in the finish. It’s a superb wine. This is not your typical riesling. The Gänstreiberin vineyard is on 0.6 hectares, a very steep, terraced slope. 2018, they started making a separate wine from this difficult-to-work vineyard (26 euros).
Vitikultur Moser Riesling Ried Gebling Reserve 2021
This is a riesling from Gebling with delicious peppery, citrus, and floral aromas. It has a great mouthfeel and an elegant and fresh finish. Complex and lingering (22 euros).
Vitikultur Moser Diagonal Sauvignon Blanc 2018
Diagonal is an exciting wine, not least when you know that Niki does not like sauvignon blanc. A wine should not “jump out of the glass”, as he puts it. So, this is another style of sauvignon blanc. He calls the vinification “extreme”. The must stays in contact with the skins for two days in 225 and 500 litre old oak barrels. The wine then remains on its lees for 14 months without racking. No added sulphur. Full, creamy mouthfeel, slightly oxidised, yellow stone fruit and some exotic fruit, baked apples, lingering taste with a good and fresh acidity in the finish. Very enjoyable (33 euro).
Burgenland wines
Vitikultur Moser Zweigelt Reserve 2021, Burgenland, Austria
Zweigelt is widely planted on the eastern side of Lake Neusiedl. Sepp planted the vines, the oldest dating back to 1972. For his Zweigelt wine, Niki uses old oak barrels to keep the acidity. The wine has refreshing fruit, red berries, sour cherries, and a warm spiciness. It is light and elegant in style (26 euros).
He also makes a Pinot Blanc in Burgenland, a full-bodied wine that gravitates towards honey and ripe apricot. It is very flavourful and has a strong character. His delicious, sparkling Blanc de Blanc Brut Nature, made with 100% Chardonnay, is also a Burgenland wine.
All in all, this is a superb selection of wines. Don’t hesitate if you happen to see Vitikultur Moser (or Sepp Moser) on a bottle of Austrian wine. 65% of the production is exported to 20 countries.
The prices are from the estate’s online shop.
