Roter Mulatschak

The vineyard as a biotope. In the vineyards, among protected natural ponds, precious cover crops and wild herbs grow around our vines: sweet-clover, vetches, red clover and wild grasses provide a habitat for soil organisms and beneficial organisms. The deep roots loosen the ground, forming the basis for healthy vines. At the same time, cover crops act as a natural competitor for the vines – gentle and deliberate competition is good for the development of aromas and phenols in the grapes.

We fertilise our vineyards with the compost we produce ourselves on the farm, using sheep, cow and horse manure, pomace, green waste and occasionally also rock dust.

Robust and healthy vines can only grow in soil which is alive, producing completely individual wines full of character.

Our aim is to focus on the original meaning of the term “Wein-Garten” (the German word for vineyard which contains the words “wine” and “garden”) by creating a true garden with fruit, vegetables, vines and herbs. Even stinging nettles and thistles are now welcome to grow rampant among the vines – they are important sources of food for many insects. Some species of caterpillar and butterfly cannot survive without them. Numerous beetles, flies and gnats use thistles to lay their larvae. These plants are often demonised as “weeds” by many farmers, but they create precious habitats where butterflies and songbirds find their home in the summer. They make humus formation possible and restore harmony in the vines’ habitat. However, not only the vines benefit from this new Garden of Eden. We are also delighted to be able to bring home fruit and vegetables from our vineyards after a long day’s work. Working among blossoming trees and flowers makes us happy.

Vine after vine, all lined up on the bare ground like soldiers at roll-call: one-dimensional pictures like these have characterised vineyard landscapes for centuries, and have become the norm. We, however, want to go in a new direction. On the largest continuous vineyard area of 10 ha, we created 27 eco-islands with around 800m2. These islands form giant water droplet shapes and are spread out over several rows of vines, breaking up the monotony of the vineyard’s architecture.

The centre of each island is formed by one fruit tree including almond, plum and quince trees. Tall apple trees also made the list as they provide habitats for birds, small mammals and insects. Field mice, shrews, hedgehogs, stone martens and rare garden dormice live around the fruit trees.

At Meinklang, we also plant black elderberry bushes as their fruit feeds more than 62 bird species. With a total of more than 300 species, the bushy thicket, shrubs, herbs, vegetables and flowers complete these plant oases.

What can we say about the work in our cellar? Yes, it is possible to work exclusively with natural, spontaneous fermentation. Yes, it is possible for malolactic fermentation to set in naturally, in its own time. Yes, it is also possible to do without the many additives known as “fining” agents in specialist terminology – as if our wines weren’t fine enough on their own! And yes, it is also possible to produce wines with very little sulphur or even to vinify completely without sulphur. Trusting nature is a beautiful and exciting experience. All our wines have therefore been vegan-friendly since the 2004 vintage.

Wooden, stainless steel and concrete vessels reside in our cellar. They are, together with the element of maturation time, our cellar hands. Up-to-date technology is also important to us, so that we can preserve, but not alter, the treasures produced in our vineyards. By technology, we mean clean tanks and basic cellar equipment, as we do not use highly technical machines. We work on two floors using gravity flow, which spares us some pumping and enables us to tip the grapes directly into our press. When we built our cellar, we modelled it on the traditional wood barn – a downscaled functional building which allows the wines to be in the foreground.

Roter Mulatschak

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