If you want terroir, which fundamentally shapes the wine and its taste, you have to do without human intervention. This is above all a matter of trust: in its own unique potential and in the fact that nature can also develop its own power, if you just let it. Bernhard Ott is convinced of this theory. By switching to biodynamics in 2006, the vintner from Wagram has fully adapted to the rhythm of nature: uncompromising and open to what the respective vintage has in store for him.
Since Bernhard Ott took over his parents' winery in the early 1990’s, he has almost exclusively focused on Grüner Veltliner. The deep loess sediment in Wagram and the Kamptal sites is particularly good for this particular grape variety. The cultivation of the vineyards is farmed according to the principles of biodynamics, much is done by hand: the harvest, the biodynamic preparations and the production of organic compost. The ecosystem functions as a whole, gentle soil cultivation with light machinery and spontaneous fermentation by yeasts naturally vivid in the vineyards. Much of the way Bernhard Ott makes his wine today is reminiscent of his ancestors. In the cellar, he has long used hand-operated grape mills and a basket press and macerates the grapes with stems. Bernard Ott uses closed pneumatic presses. The juice is fermented by natural yeasts without temperature control in either stainless steel tanks or Stockinger fuder barrels. They are Ott's greatest homage to tradition, which he carries into the future with respect for the past, but with the knowledge of today. For individual wines, which stand more than ever for uncompromising quality and an unmistakable taste.
Weingut Ott is a member of respekt-BIODYN and the Austrian Traditional Wine Growers Association as well as a partner of the JRE Jeunes Restaurateurs Austria.
