The Black Dog Wine Company

After a run of challenging seasons in which the vintages have been compromised quantitively, though not qualitatively, by the vagaries of mother nature - primarily manifested as highly destructive frost and hail - 2017 at last provides the increasing numbers of those of us who are entranced with fine Burgundy with a vintage which offers both excellent quality and respectable quantities. So too does it give the producers room to breathe, and in some instances even avoid foreclosure and sale, an important point given the spectre of circling multinationals keen to take a stake in this still fascinatingly fragmented, historic and primarily familial wine-producing region.

Beneath an affable and charming exterior characterised by a relaxed and cheerful bonhomie and an enthusiasm for matters gastronomic lies a serious, intuitive and dedicated wine producer who has developed his family company into one of the dynamic successes in Austria's Wagram region, and the powerhouse behind one of the leading brands for this increasingly popular, food-friendly variety. The 50 hectares of vineyards owned by the firm are virtually entirely dedicated to Grüner Veltliner, and are all farmed according to biodynamic principles. Read more...