Collection: Werlitsch

Ewald Tscheppe, winemaker and owner at Werlitsch took over the family estate at 26 from his father. He and his brother both make wine in Styra but Andreas bottles it under his own name, Andreas Tscheppe. Once again they share the same mindset of the Muster's celebrating and caring for their unique Opok soils. Ewald produces some of the most fascinating white and skin contact wines in the region focusing on three varieties, Morillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Welschriesling. His vineyards are split into parcels depending on how exposed the Opok soils are and elevation. If you were to look at it from above it would seem like it is one continuous set of rolling hills packed with vineyards in an idyllic setting like something from The Hobbit.

The wines are all spontaneously fermented, treated in a very hands off manner and left in barrels for at least 18 months (sometimes up to 3 years) to evolve and settle. Due to their extended time in barrel the wines are very stable, accessible in their youth and really open and expand over a few hours in a decanter. There is layers and layers of detail and savoury nuance making the wines a truly epicurean experience. - Pete L

Although uncommon, it is attractive for us and has proved itself to present our wines in the form of cuvees. Ewald Tscheppe: "With cuvees, I can bring out the complexity of our vineyards exactly as they appear. My work in the cellar remains unmanipulative. I save myself the variety regulations, conceptions and expectations that the mechanised wine industry has developed. All I want is to extract the complete potential of a grape and bring it into harmony in the wine." This may be a challenging thought for the wine-lover. But all a wine drinker needs is an open mind and curiosity to discover and enjoy the rich facets of a cuvee. Therefore, wine for highest standards. Our winemaking: Work in the wine cellar is a quiet but very attentive accompanying of wine in its development and maturation. The grape juice ferments in wooden barrels of various sizes on its own natural producing yeasts; every lot for itself. Development of the wine occurs further in wood barrels. Each wine needs its own time to mature. Our wines need a minimum of 22 months for this. Within this time, all wines from the given year and from each vineyard location mature together harmoniously, similar to that of an attentive orchestra. We interfere only in the stabilisation of the protein in the wine an adding only a small amount of sulphur. By way of this caring and long maturation, our wines are pleasant and tasty to enjoy. - Importer Note