PLENER WINERY

We bought old vineyards on the south and southeastern limestone slopes of Palava hills, situated one hour’s drive north of Vienna, in the Czech Republic.  Most of these vineyards were planted around the year 2000. Effectively then, we have vines of between twenty and twenty-five years old with a vineyard that was created and farmed according to somebody else‘s way of doing things. We chose a way of respecting what was created, especially those methods that produced the deep roots that we are so proud of.  In addition, we slowly began to get the plants use to our way of cultivation, that we hope will lead to even greater improvement.

One year later, we also started to plant brand new vines on the fields that we left rest for two years and still to this day, we continue planting. Our vineyards are located around the villages of Bavory, Klentnice and Pavlov, all historical wine towns with a long-standing reputation for quality. Every year, vineyard plots that are spread accross the hills, are getting closer and closer to our way of thinking and are also changing according to our care and attention. As time goes by, we feel as if we are even more successful in harmonizing our mental map of the landscape with the reality of nature and the cycles that sustain her.

Growing our own grapes is just the beginning of the journey for us that leads to the creation of wines that are true to us and to the land that produced them. In order to make the terroir-driven wines that we strive for, yearlong care and attention to detail is absolutely crucial. We love the land and our greatest wish is to make wines that so clearly reflect exactly where they come from. 

„The moment the grapes come into the cellar – that’s the most exciting time in the winemaker’s year. I know that I have only this one opportunity to maximize the potential of the grapes that we have invested thousands of hours of toil into. The entire history of the viticultural year is told in the grapes.  Winemaking is not only a job for me, but my whole way of life, my passion and my mission. I neither wish to be orthodox nor extreme in my approach to grape growing and winemaking. I am trying to make wine with sensitivity and humility. I don’t want to interfere with the oenological processes that nature is using. When I am thinking about wine, I can see the complexity in it.  The biggest oenological aim for me is to express the truth. I would like to create wine that always reflect the vintage conditions, the sense of place and my feelings.

The wines are fermented and aged in carefully measured proportions of stainless steel tanks and oak vessels in all shapes and sizes. During the ageing, I am trying to give the wines the opportunity to be in contact with the lees for the longest possible time. In the glass, I love clarity in wine. In the brightness of a wine’s appearance, there is also the space to express the aroma, the origin of the grapes and to encounter the real essence of the wine. That’s why our wines go to bottle with only minimal filtration. Thanks to this, they show their beauty without losing their soul. My biggest task during the creation of wine is to exercise control and patience. I nurse the grapes, watch out for their behaviour under different conditions and work the grapes in such a way that I end up with the best result possible with minimal intervention. My biggest wish is to create wines that can stir the mind and liven up the soul.“