Our vineyard area on Salzberg has grown steadily over the years – one “trouser belt parcel” after another. (Because the Napoleonic inheritance laws fragmented the Gols vineyard landscape over the years, the word “Hosenriemenparzelle”, which means trouser belt parcel, developed in the local dialect to describe the increasingly smaller vineyard parcels.) We planted these parcels over the past years, not only expanding our vineyard area but also the types of soil on which we cultivate. A potpourri of heterogeneous conditions – clay, silt, lime, sand and gravel are the five dominating soil types – are planted predominantly with Merlot and Blaufränkisch as well as a little Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc).

The complexity of soil types is further highlighted by the mesoclimatic peculiarities. The site faces directly towards the sun, where (like the Gabarinza) it can become quite warm. There is little moisture, the grape bunches are loose, grape berries small and thick-skinned, and together with biodynamic cultivation, the site yields meaty, concentrated and multi-layered wines. In the upper Salzberg where the soils become poorer and gravel content increases, Zweigelt has the last word. That word is weighty, compact, streamlined and flows into the Pannobile blend.