2023 Gut Oggau Eugenie

WINEMAKER: Stephanie & Eduard Tscheppe-Eselböck
REGION: Burgenland, AT
VARIETY: Field Blend
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic

Steffi and Edi on this wine: “Longingly we have been waiting for Eugenie, now she is finally here. And she comes with a bang, she does not just show up, she appears. Born in handcrafted vineyards that we planted ourselves, in our personal garden Eden, a patch of earth that is healed, that radiates with energy. […] Her home is the future, her ancient soul honest, her wisdom astral and inspiring. Her charisma is subtle and thrilling, her expression gentle yet beaming and captivating. Together with Eugenie we are prepared to face the challenges, knowing that harmony and balance can only be achieved step by step. And every sip is a step towards confidence.”

Gut Oggau is a project in the small town of Oggau in Burgenland, Austria, started by Eduard and Stephanie Tscheppe in 2007. Before starting the winery, Eduard made conventional wine with his father in Styria, and Stephanie’s family owned and operated the Michelin starred restaurant Taubenkobel. They painstakingly restored the 17th century winery that had been abandoned for 20 years, including its 200-year-old screw press. The vines’ 20-year period of neglect was fortunate, as this allowed for all pesticide and chemical treatments to be washed away. This let them begin working immediately on vines biodynamically, where they are now fully Demeter certified.

When they began to work with the wines in the cellar, they noticed that each wine seemed so alive with its own personality, that they decided to craft labels centered around the personality inside each bottle. Thus they created a family of wines: each wine is given a name of one family member and the artist Jung von Matt draws a face for each label. The children, Atanasius, Theodora, and Winifred, are wines that are more forthright, light, bold and energetic. The parents, Joschuari, Emmeram, Timotheus, and Josephine, come from vineyards with a little more direct sun exposure and therefore more ripeness producing wines with more body and power. And finally the grandparents, Mechtild and Bertholdi, are from two single vineyards of older vines that produce the most traditional wines from their lineup. Most of the vineyards are field blended, and therefore there is little mention of grape varieties here, but they do work with 6 main grape varieties– Blaufrankish, Zweigelt Grüner Veltliner, Welchriesling, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), and Gewurtzraminer.