Kolfok Gruner Veltliner Alte Reben 2019

The word Kolfok has its origins in a regional dialect and describes a person, critical to common thoughts — an unconventional thinker. Winemaker and Kolfok in chief Stefan Wellanschitz was born into winemaking at the family's estate in Neckenmarkt, a winery that dates back to the early 19th century, to a time when this part of Burgenland was still Hungarian and not Austrian.

Stefan decided to launch his own wines back in 2013, wines that are a clear deviation from the family's more traditional style, towards natural winemaking and a purist low-tech approach that would highlight soils and micro-climate, aka terroir.

Kolfok wines are all about transporting soils and place. This Gruner Veltliner hails from five different vineyard sites in and around Neckenmarkt in the Mittelburgenland region that were planted in the 50s. Old clones that were manually grafted give rise to thick-skinned dark berries that are pressed gently and without destemming. Fermentation happens in 500-600 Liter barrels from locally sourced oak. The wine is not filtered or fined and receives a minimal amount of sulfur before it is bottled. In regional dialect, Kolfok means an unconventional thinker. Winemaker Stefan Wellanschitz's family's estate in Neckenmarkt dates to the early 19th century, when this part of Burgenland was still Hungarian and not Austrian.