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Ploder-Rosenberg is a family estate, located in Vulkanland Steiermark. It spans over 11 hectares (27 acres) of vineyards. With Manuel Ploder, the winery is now in its third generation, but the real pivot happened in 2005 when the family converted to biodynamic farming and started to focus on PiWi (fungus resistant) varieties. Today, 70 to 75 percent of their vineyards are planted with PiWis, with Souvignier Gris being the primary grape. 

With Manuel’s takeover in 2011, the winery took the next step in its development. He changed the style and started pursuing low intervention winemaking. He is joined by his partner, Selina Weratschnig, but is also still aided by his parents, Maria and Aldred. Manuel and Selina are free-spirited individuals, often seen walking barefoot, and the new wines at Ploder-Rosenberg reflect this. Their life and wine philosophy are rooted in the notion that everything is interconnected in nature and that humans are a link that has a strong influence on it. 

As such, Manuel’s winemaking is never rushed. An essential factor is time, or freedom, that he gives the wines to develop. He is a calm, soft-spoken and complex individual, and this energy is translated in the wines. The maceration times, natural sedimentation, spontaneous fermentation (without temperature intervention), as well as the biological acid degradation are all given time to harmonize.

The winery offers three different lines of their wines. They are: the Fundamental line, the Linea line, and the Archaic line. The Fundamental line features two wines, Vivas and Cara. Vivas is a blend of all of the aromatic varieties, while Cara is a blend of all Burgundian-like varieties. These are aged for at least 18 months before bottling. The fundamental aspect of these wines is the emphasis on the wide range of grape varieties grown at the estate. 

The heart of the winery is the Linea line, which focuses on individual varieties. These wines ferment and mature for between 18 months and 3 years, mostly in 600-liter oak barrels with the long lees contact. With depth, minerality and expressive complexity, they show character of the variety and the soil. 

The Archaic line consists of of two levels: the three colors of wine (white, red and rosé), and four elements (air, water, fire and earth) that are fermented and aged in qvevris and amphoras. These wines are matured for at least 3 years before release and are the pinnacle of Ploder-Rosenberg’s portfolio.

Interestingly, all wines at the winery are named in Esperanto.

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