The Gewürztraminer from Semikolon has its origins in a night in 2017 when wine was drunk but also discussed. Katharina Salzgeber (cellar master at Alwin & Steffi Jurtschitsch) and Nikolaus Saahs (owner of Nikolaihof), the two protagonists of the evening, thought, among other things, about the potential of Gewürztraminer and the wines made from it, which, with a few exceptions, they didn't particularly like. And pondered what would happen if it were given a different approach in terms of harvest time, processing and ageing. After many commas and a few dots, they put an exclamation mark at the end of the evening and launched the semicolon (semicolon) project.
Just like "the semicolon, which is not subject to any grammatical rules in terms of use and interpretation", the two ignored the usual procedure in the interpretation of the grape variety and did what they thought was right. In the vineyard, in addition to a biodynamic approach, this means above all an early harvest in order to preserve the acidity (which can drop radically within a very short time in the GT). In the cellar, the two of them proceeded according to the motto "everything may, nothing must".
This meant that the must/wine did not have to undergo fining, stabilisation or filtration, and no sulphur was used. It was allowed to ferment spontaneously on the skins for three weeks and then develop for eight months on the lees in a 300-litre wooden barrels.
The Semikolon-Gewürztraminer gets going from the very first second. Instead of relying on alcohol, it builds on energy. It shows cool and clear flavours which are accompanied by a powerful structure, precise acidity and profound substance.
Data sheet
Grape variety: Gewürztraminer
Vineyard: Wachau, Gneiss
Harvest: By hand
Fermentation: spontaneous | wild yeasts, 100% mash
Ageing: 8 months in used wooden barrels
Filtration: no
SO₂: no added sulphites
Alcohol: 11.5 % vol.
Closure: Natural cork
Drinking temperature: 10-12 °C
Perfect drinking period: from now - 2030
Content and price per litre: 0.75 l/(€49.87/l)
Maxime: All winegrowers listed with Vinonudo work with compost, organic fertiliser and natural preparations in their vineyards and do not use herbicides, pesticides or artificial fertilisers.
