The Spotlight - Gleichgewicht - Six Unashamedly Awesome Wines from Austria - a six bottle box set

Every month at GlouGlou we shine a spotlight on a different region to celebrate its winemakers and the way in which they interact with the land. So at the end of every month we will be putting together a selection of our favourite wines from each region; some we may have been shouting about, have enjoyed by the glass at GlouGlou, and perhaps a couple of deeper dives that may have slipped the main spotlight, but all guaranteed to showcase what makes each region worth getting excited about.

Offered at a discounted rate, we'll have this six box set delivered to your home so that you can by whisked away to our spotlighted region with each sip from the comfort of your sofa.

Subscribe for regular deliveries and save even further. Although the price of The Spotlight Case will vary according to the wines chosen each month, it will always be between £90 and £130 and by subscribing you'l save an additional £3.50 off each box set - enough to buy a banging V60 pour-over coffee from PetitGlou to enjoy while you scan the shelves in Iron & Rose or relax after some intensive market shopping.

This October saw GlouGlou shine the spotlight on Austria where they don't take anything by half measures. All biodynamically farmed, all with deep care taken in the winery. This box set contains six bangers all seeking balance or 'Gleichgewicht' within life and with the planet.

Sparkling:

Heinrich, Oh When The Saints, Pet Nat, Burgenland, Austria - 

Gernot and Heike Henrich are life long innovators. Since taking over the family estate in 1985 they have constantly sought to improve and explore. Now farming biodynamically, which they see as being right for the planet and better for the wines, they were among the first to move to focus on quality and champion local grape varieties.

St Laurent is hand harvested from a single site in Rosenberg, an east facing slope in the hills of Leithaberg. The grapes then start the initial fermentation in stainlesss steel. After 3 weeks the wine is then bottled and begins a referment and at 5 months the wine is disgorged with 7.9g/l of residual sugar.

Producer - Heinrich
Country - Austria
Region - Neusiedlersee-Hügelland, Burgenland
Appelation - Leithaberg
Variety / Blend - St Laurent
Farming - Biodynamic
Vegan

White wines:

Arndorfer, Vorgeschmack, Kamptal, Austria - Vorgeschmack means foretaste or appetizer and that's what this wine is, the perfect aperitif, dry on the palate with the characteristic citrus and herbal qualities of GV (as it is known to its friends) backed up by limey Riesling. It would be perfect with East Asian food too. The wine is grown in the Kamptal, a tributary of the Danube, upstream from Vienna where the loess and volcanic derived soils, warm days, cool nights and long ripening season create a climate ideal for growing aromatic varieties. 

Producer         - Arndorfer
Country           - Austria
Region             - Kamptal
Variety / Blend - Riesling, Gruner Veltliner
Farming            - Organic / Biodynamic
Vegan    
Low Sulphates

Red wines:

Weingut Muster, Zweigelt vom Opok, Steirerland, Austria  - "To fundamentally change things, you must see the world through different eyes." Maria and Sepp Muster farm 10 hectares of vines in Styria, southern Austria, biodynamically, in tune with nature. Their wines are precise, elegant and fabulous. This red, made from Zweigelt, is vivid and bright with flavours of wild cherry and plum.

Producer         - Weingut Muster
Country           - Austria
Region             - Steirerland (Styria)
Variety / Blend - Zweigelt
Farming            - Organic / Biodynamic   
Vegan

Birgit Braunstein, Wildwux, Burgenland, Austria - This red is a blend of Austrian varietals Zweigelt, St Laurent and Blaufränkisch, full of red berries, herbs and minerality, made by Birgit who’s family has been growing vines next to lake Neusiedl for 400 years. 

Producer           - Birgit Braunstein
Country             - Austria
Region               - Burgenland
Appellation       - Neusiedlersee Hugelland
Variety / Blend - Blaufrankisch, St Laurent, Zweigelt
Farming            - Biodynamic
Vegan      

Rosé Wine:

Judith Beck, Beck Pink, Burgenland, Austria -  Judith Beck returned to her families vineyard after studying at Klosterneuberg wine school as well as internships in France, Italy and Chile. Once she returned and took over from her father in 2007 the vineyard and winery took on a more biodynamic approach and she lives by her philosophy of ‘natural, true, genuine and above all authentic’. A beautiful (and beautifully labelled) dry but intense rosé made by Judith Beck from local grape Zweigelt. Bursting with red fruits and herbal touches. The grapes are hand harvested and fermented in stainless steel to retain its freshness. Brilliant with fish or why not try a soft goats cheese.

Producer         - Judith Beck
Country           - Austria
Region             - Burgenland
Variety / Blend - Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch
Farming            - Organic / Biodynamic
Vegan

Orange wines:

Judith Beck, Traminer, Burgenland, Austria - Judith Beck's wines always delight with their balance, elegance and drinkability, so here's another! As she says, they go for complexity over opulence, enjoyableness over power. Located in Burgenland in eastern Austria the climate is strongly continental but the vineyards are particularly influenced by the Neusiedlersee, a huge, shallow lake that tempers the climate and stores warmth from the long summer sunlight hours.

Traminer is made with 6-8 days skin contact during fermentation which enhances the aromatics and adds texture and length. Delicious with a mixed selction of cheese and charcuterie.

Producer           - Judith Beck
Country             - Austria
Region               - Burgenland
Variety / Blend - Gewurtztraminer
Farming           - Organic / Biodynamic
Vegan    

This case contains one bottle of each of these wines. If any is out of stock or becomes unavailable it will be replaced by one of equal or greater value and deliciousness.