2020 Peter Wetzer Ság

WINEMAKER: Peter Wetzer
VARIETAL: Olaszrizling, Hárslevelü, Rizlingszilváni, Pölöskei Muskotály+
REGION: Sopron, HU
VITICULTURE: Organic

A very old vineyard planted around 100 years ago on Ság, a small extinct volcano west of Somló. Gobelet-trained organic plot on red volcanic soil (basalt, tuff). Grapes are hand-harvested and manually selected. Gently foot-stomped and basket-pressed, then wild fermented partly in 300-liter and 500-liter Hungarian barrels till December. Aging in the same vessel, bottled by gravity in May. No fining or filtration. The most textured of Peter’s whites, with a distinct volcanic character.

"Peter Wetzer grew up in a winemaking family, and while he studied the world of wine he came to realize he vastly preferred the wines that were made more naturally. In 2007 he purchased five different vineyards around the town of Sopron, in the northwest part of Hungary. Sopron was formerly the capital of Burgenland, so it is not surprising that the Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) variety is so commonly found here. Peter works Kékfrankos on five different vineyard sites comprising 2.5 hectares and additionally has 1 hectare of furmint vines he planted himself near the Ság volcano, and another hectare of vines from a few different varieties like Pinot Noir. He works to have very healthy soil, with natural biodiversity, and minimum spraying with copper sulfate and a nettle tincture he makes. He believes in minimal intervention in the vines, never tilling the soil or trimming the leaves. All grapes are hand-harvested, and the vineyards are all fermented separately." - Jenny & Francois