Sepp Moser

Weingut Sepp Moser, run by Nikolaus Moser, is one of the growing band of biodynamic producers in Austria. From 2008 they will be totally biodynamic. One of their wines is pioneering in that it is made without the addition of sulfur dioxide – the ‘Minimal’ Grüner Veltliner. It's tricky enough making red wines without sulfur dioxide, and even more difficult to make whites, but Nickolaus Moser has managed it. They're really good wines across the board, and the Minimal is pretty special indeed.

The Moser family has been involved with winemaking in Kremstal for seventeen generations. Viticulture in the region goes back over a thousand years, and there’s a record of a Moser ancestor managing the church vineyards in the 13th century. Current owner Niki Moser’s great-great-grandfather was the first completely independent winegrower in the village in 1848. His grandfather was integral in developing the Lens-Moser vine training system, and established their unique “Atrium House” winery building in the 1960s, decorated with discarded pieces of buildings from Vienna. Niki’s father Sepp added the Burgenland vineyards to the estate, and after some soul searching, Niki took over in 2000. Today, he manages the estate along with his daughter Kathi and her husband Jan.

The Moser estate encompasses plantings in Kremstal and Neusiedlersee, two very different regions 160km apart. Their home vineyards in Kremstal are focused primarily on white grapes, grown on historic terraced vineyard sites. The plantings in Neusiedlersee are 80% red grapes, grown on flatter land near the Hungarian border, located within a national park, surrounded by diverse flora and fauna. Niki feels that although it’s a challenge to oversee vineyards located so far apart, it’s also an advantage to be able to offer a range of quality wines from two such different regions.

The goal for the Moser wines is to “express their personality and regional character without make-up.” Of course this starts in the vineyard: the vines are Demeter-certified biodynamic, and Niki is in fact the head of Demeter Austria. Vineyard treatments are thoughtful rather than automatic: copper and sulfur sprays are only used at times of high fungal risk, and he’s incorporating more homeopathic remedies and herbal teas when possible. Harvest is always done by hand, and grapes from Neusiedlersee are transported in large boxes. In the cellar, patience is key: Niki refers to it as “slow winemaking.” All of the wines are spontaneously fermented with native yeasts, and fermentations are allowed to take as long as they need to take. They never use any enzymes, yeast nutrients, or chemical stabilization. Niki prefers to rely on tasting and gut feeling rather than solely scientific analysis to make decisions about the wines. The regional wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel, while the reserve whites and reds spend time in used oak, either large old casks from local Austrian coopers, or used barriques sourced from France.