Kittenberg - Wachstum König
Wachstum König are two brothers Herbert and Karl-Heinz, 4th Generation, together with their mother Anni. Owning some precious orchards and vineyards, planted mainly by their grandfather who chose the name Wachstum which means "Growth". Everything that grows there must be in the spotlight, not the farm. Every tree or vine needed a specifi soil with specific pH's, that was their grandfather speciality, who even wrote few books about this. Those plants are still there, in moments that fruit trees are getting pulled out to plant new ones, so the farmers could get more quantities, the König family decided to leave those threes, having smaller fruit with ticker skins, more tannins, lower pH, more acidity, less sugar but ripe and with low volumes. All the proprity is farmed biodynamic which gives less volumes but more powerfull taste.
Their father passed away 25 years ago (Herbert at the age of 8) in a tractor accident, the brothers didn't have the intrest then to continue his project, reminding them too much of their father, the scar was then too deep. Herbert went University and after that he went to work for a big winery Polze, who rented the vineyards and ochards of their mother Anni. After that he became sommelier in a restaurant in Graz, learning more about wine from all over the world. Karl-Heinz jumped in the biodynamic books and became really interested in fruit trees. He now even gives advance trainings to the local university for wine and fruit growing in Silberberg. Then in 2018 they decides to revive their family project out of a "growing" passion.
Luckily their mother Anni was always connected to the winery with the needed passion for more than 40 years and is still helping her two sons.
In the cellar everything is in low intervention. The wines are vinified by parcel. 0.5ha Sauvignon Blanc Wiesengarten and 0.6ha Weissburgunder. (only between 2000 - 3000kg of grapes per harvest). Herbert thought about his wines for about 20 years before starting with his first botteling. He has a specific vision about what he wanted and he gladly got help by the members of Schmäke das Lebe (Tscheppe, Muster, Tauss, ...) and many other biodynamic farmers from the area.
The barrels are cleaned with thee and the wines have zero sulpher added. The fruit juices are meant to be served with decent dishes. They are very gastronomical and one of the only juices that go so close to wine, without alcohol. The price might seem crazy, but wait until you taste them.
