The Wess winery is located in the Kremstal, one of Austria's most culturally rich winegrowing regions. The vineyards - originally owned by monasteries - were already cultivated by "Weinzierler" more than 1,000 years ago and have always been an essential part of nature, the economy and culture in the Kremstal.
In 2003, Rainer Wess founded his winery right here, in the centre of this traditional winegrowing region. His passion for fine and elegant wines led him to collect vineyard parcels one by one with a great deal of patience. Initially as leased parcels, later also owned by himself, his stock of vines slowly grew and a serious winery was created. Christina Juen-Wess can now build on her father's pioneering work to further develop the winery. One of the first decisions was to switch to organic (2024 will be the first certified organic vintage) and plastic-free cultivation. "Efficient and effective" is Christina and her husband David's motto. Those who plan well and work with foresight need to intervene less afterwards and can give the wines more room to develop.
The young couple cultivate 15 of the 2,300 hectares of vineyards in the Kremstal and are particularly proud of time-honoured vineyards that have been classified as Erste Lagen by the traditional wineries: Ried Pfaffenberg, Ried Kögl and Ried Weinzierlberg are its 1ÖTW sites. What's exciting is the geological differences from loess to primary rock soils with slate components and the Grüner Veltliner and Riesling grape varieties.
Furthermore, the towering vineyards of the Krems Valley offer great climatic differences with warm zones near the Danube and extremely cool parcels at high altitudes. In order to express these characters well, Christina Juen-Wess wants to give her wines more time to mature. She stores the Rieslings in particular for at least a year longer before they are released onto the market, even if this means going against the commercial mainstream.
Christina's personality is also reflected in her wines. She is optimistic, energetic and creative. Under her leadership, the winery is now entering a new era.
