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Tschida

Tschida

If there is a "Pantheon of natural winemakers", Christian Tschida is firmly in place.  Now arguably one of the most cult-like natural winemakers, the small amounts of wines sent to the states get eaten up by his followers quickly. Today, we have a very rare lineup of wines from him, including his extremely elusive "Brutal" bottling.

Tschida is a self-described "transformer"of grapes into this phenomenon we call wine.  He is deliberate, caring, and thoughtful with every aspect of his operation, almost to a fault.  He is a minimalist, from his home, to cellar, to his wine.  Utmost care is take in his vineyard, to the point where he has invented his own ways of planting vines to ward off too much sunlight and compete with each other for nutrients. His vineyards are completely organic and biodynamic, to the point where he even pours his unfermented press juice and skins must back into the soils. He uses a very high end basket press, that has only "the power of a handshake", to yield only the best juice--that is how gentle it is on his fruit.  He is completely in tune with his vines and land, and as you will see below makes many cuvees based on each micro terroir.

In today's offer we include the following wines, with information included from his website and his importers website.  We are huge fans of his himm Auf Erden and birdscape bottlings here.

AEIOU - A new cuvée. “A.E.I.O.U. – Loved by some who know, loathed by others,” says Christian. From a single Chardonnay-plot on schist, where twin vines grow side by side and together yield what amounts to one classically planted vine. The result is smaller, hyper-concentrated and aromatic grapes that boast beautiful acidity and strong minerality.  100% Chardonnay.

All The Love Of The Universe - Another new cuvée.  Harvested from a single vineyard high up on a hill, where there’s “sky rocketing activity” of chalk, says Christian. The vines demand and receive his full attention and affection — namely, All the Love of the Universe. 100% Pinot Blanc from a single vineyard up on a hill, porous limestone with loads of chalk. The grapes are hand-picked. Aged in a single old barrel. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, zero sulfur added. Delicate and bursting with salinity.

Birdscape Red - Birdscape is made with what Christian calls “Pink Maceration,” a very light extraction with just a small amount of contact with the skins, to result in a very dark rosé, or perhaps a very light red wine. Label art by Erró. 40 year old vines of Blaufrankisch, Pinot Noir, and some white varieties. Christian made just one 3000 liter barrel of this wine. It is bottled without sulfur. 

Felsen II - 30 years Syrah vines are hand harvested and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. It spends about a year aging in 1200-liter barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and a no addition of sulfur.

Himmel Auf Erden Rose - 100% old vine Blaufrankisch Christian picks over 5 different harvest days in order to show off “the whole aromatic spectrum” of his highest, coolest vineyards. Made in a light red, rosé style this is always a favorite from Tschida.

Himmel Auf Erden Weiss - "Densely planted Grüner Veltliner rooting on pure, hard limestone – a demanding soil type that Christian and his friends carefully work by horse. Vintage 2022 spreads its wings over a very old Sauvignon Blanc garden: straight forward fruit, precise mineral and delicate like a juicy, freshly picked peach. A classic. Like biting into a juicy, freshly-picked peach on a seaside picnic. Precise mineral, delicate and bright stonefruit."

Laissez Faire - 40 years old Riesling vines planted on Steep schist slopes with dense limestone and quartz towards the bottom. Grapes are hand harvested and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. It spends 2 years aging in large Stockinger barrels and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur.

Non Tradition Weiss - The first vintage to combine not one, but two Veltliner vineyards, in order to express the complex limestone of an old vineyard with the schist soil of another. “The temptation to bottle such wines separately was huge, but combined the two seem to expand their aromatic dimension many times over, adding layers and length on the palate. The calculation clearly goes 1+1=3,” says Christian. 40 year old Grüner Veltliner vines. Grapes are hand-harvested and crushed by foot. The juices ferment separately in large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking. Some barrels remain in contact with the skins for a short amount of time. They spend 1 year aging in barrel and are combined before being bottled without fining, filtering, or any addition of sulfur.

Non Tradition 4 Jahre Fassgereift (4 year barrel aged) - 40 year old Gruner Veltliner vines. Grapes were hand-harvested, gently pressed and fermented aged in a large Stockinger barrel for 4 years without topping-up. Bottled without fining or filtering, no addition of sulfur. We all know Christian is capable of incredible wines but wow. Dense, focused, precise, incredibly layered, and full of details that Christian cares about so much. Truly unique and rare white.

Stockkultur Rot - Christian’s new take on the cult Burgundian grape, coming from painstakingly cherished, high-density vineyard trained on stakes, hence also the name “Stock kultur”. Only 750 bottles made. 100% Pinot Noir from 40-year-old vines with high density, trained as “Stockkultur”, ie on wooden stakes.The grapes are hand-picked and gently pressed. Aged in new 600L French oak barrel for about a year. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, zero sulfur added. There’s smoke and minerals and violets and crushed forest strawberry and brambles and many, many more, all entangled on a beautiful, masterly built tannic structure. Great aging potential.

Brutal -  40 year old Pinot Noir grapes are hand harvested and crushed by foot. The juice ferments in 2 large barrels with indigenous yeast and no racking.  It spends 1 year aging in barrel and is bottled without fining or filtering and no addition of sulfur. Bottled in magnum only.

What is Brutal?  Good question. And it is what sparked this offer today.  Its is a label made by a handful of peers in the natural wine world and is very much a part of the movement.  Only one barrel is made, usually, and it is must be zero/zero, completely un manipulated, and be "experimental" in nature.  The history of this label started with a conversation between three winemakers years ago--Spain's Laureano Serras and Joan Ramon Escoda, and French winemaker Anthony Tortul.  In Tortul’s cellar Serras and Escoda kept using their Catalan slang calling it “Brutal." Tortal thought they were saying the wine was garbage when it actually meant "very good" in catalan.  Similar to American slang for "dope" or "sick".  Tortul came up with a label for his wine, and the Brutal was born, as is now a label shared by these producers on very rare batches that they deem as "Brutal".

Wines are discounted, and we are offering an extra discount of 10% off 12 or more bottles.  Discounts automatically applied at checkout.

Shipping and pickup available, as always.  Any questions, please respond to this email or call us at 607-319-0500

Wines arrive Wednesday November 13th.

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