Franz Strohmeier, Cat Silver no1, 2017

Fruity, Fun, Grippy

Styria / White, Skin Contact / Field Blend / Organic, Biodynamic

“Cat-silver” is how the Strohmeiers call the silicate stones with very thin layers sparkling on the soil of all their vineyards. A perfect name for a wine that shows all varieties of grapes and vineyards they work with. A blend of skin-fermented and direct-press grapes. Spontaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in wooden casks. The wine is bottled after 8 months with a small dose of sulphur. No fining or filtration. This is hazy, fun fruity and lively and full of energy and we love it.

 Notes on the producer

They say it takes a special place to make a special wine – for Strohmeier's ethereal wines, the secret ingredients must include an abundance of sun and about 1,000mm of annual rainfall – where the South-Eastern foothills of the Alps meet the base of the Koralpe, the Adriatic influence also meets the cold mountain air. In a craft where precision and technical know-how tend to become bragging rights, Franz is not afraid of the unknown. If disease strikes a vine, he will often forgo treatment, opting to remove the vine and planting a tree in its place. What exactly the tree does to the wine is anybody's guess, but Franz believes that the vineyard as a whole is one living organism, and the thriving biodiversity in his vineyards is the best health approval from Mother Nature.