Claus Preisinger

DOPE

Born in Eisenstadt in 1980, Claus Preisinger grew up in Burgenland, on the shores of Lake Neusiedl. He got involved with wine at a very young age, helping out his dad who owned 3 hectares of vines in the region. After studying at the Higher Federal Institute for Viticulture and Winegrowing in Klosterneuburg, Claus went gathering experiences around the world, and came back to his native Austria, working for three years on the sides of Hans Nittnaus, in the village of Gols.

During his time at Nittnaus', Claus started making his own wines, in the early 2000's, at this parents' winery with the family's grapes, fine-tuning his own style and vision. As he gradually took the family estate over, Claus planted and acquired new vines, totalling today some 19 hectares, with a majority of domestic grapes varieties such as Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Grüner Veltliner or Saint-Laurent. Since 2006, all the vineyards are certified Respekt Biodyn, a popular biodynamic label in Germany and Austria.

The varied terroirs of the regions are the center piece of Claus' work, spread over the Leithagebirge, the last offshoot of the Alps, on the northern shore of the Lake Neusiedl to the Parndorfer Platte, east of the Lake to Weiden am See, Gols and Mönchhof. Beautiful soils of limestone and pebbles, or as one says over here, Kalk und Kiesel.

In the brand new, futuristic looking, cellar, built in 2009, no cultivated or selected yeasts, as little sulfur as possible, and lots of experimentation. Macerations, ageing in amphora, rosé Blaufränkisch, Pet'Nat... never short of ideas, Claus stands out as one of the most creative and inovative grower and wine maker in the area and a great testimony of a new generation ready as ever to drive the region's destiny forward.

As for the wines, they're as pure as it gets, testimonies of grapes and soils and an ode to Claus' free spirit.