Wabi-Sabi is a 5 year old project of Franz Hofstätter of low intervention vineyards and cellar management in collaboration with local wine makers from TOA (Taste of Austria). Franz is also a sommelier and leads his team of wineries in export and brand development. He also makes wines with the respect of bioynamic methods and respect for the land being paramount in his philosophy. Franz is working with a few of our old friends to make Wabi-Sabi come to your doorstep. He is the blend master at the end of the day and is behind the collaboration between all of these talented young winemakers. Let's meet a couple of them...

Johannes Zillinger learned early on from his father about the craft of organic winemaking, about viewing the vineyard as a habitat and protecting the environment instead of poisoning it. His father Hans turned to organic viticulture in 1983, two years before the infamous Austrian Anti-freeze Scandal, as we like to put by choice not by force. Hans was the first producer in the Weinviertel region of Lower Austria to do so! When Johannes took over the winery in 2010, he went ever further and became Demeter Certified biodynamic starting a new chapter for the 350 year old winery. Andrey met Johannes in 2016 after tasting his St. Laurent (sadly a wine no longer produced) back in St. Louis. There was a purity and a finesse to this wine, from a grape we admittedly did not love before. Andrey asked the Austrian Wine Marketing Board to attend Vie Vinum, the Mecca of Austrian Wine, and there we met the young but very serious Johannes. Over the years our friendship has continued to evolve, we now represent him in Mexico too. For the relaunch of Bliss, we wanted to do something different, we did a special collaboration bottling, introducing Wabi-Sabi. Johannes is the collaborative force behind the still wines in the line up.

Christophe Hoch is an hot-shot wine maker in his own right. He is the local specialist for sparkling wines in the group of wine makers setting the trends in natural wines. He was kind enough to add his expertise to the Pet-Nat project. Andrey first met him way back in 2016 at Vie Vinum as well. You can find him making great bubbles in the Kremstal region of Lower Austria.

Winemaker: Franz Hofstätter, Johannes Zillinger, Christophe Hoch

Winery Stats

Vineyard Size: 18 Hectares
Total Production: 2,640 bottles (for this one time project)
Farming: Certified Biodynamic
Certification: Demeter Austria
Grapes Planted (Red): Zweigelt, Cabernet Sauvignon, Roessler, Regent, St. Laurent
Grapes Planted (White): Chardonnay, Welschriesling, Grüner-Veltliner, Scheurebe, Riesling

Winery Story

Wabi-Sabi is a 5 year old project of Franz Hofstätter of low intervention vineyards and cellar management in collaboration with local wine makers from TOA (Taste of Austria). Franz is also a sommelier and leads his team of wineries in export and brand development. He also makes wines with the respect of biodynamic methods and respect for the land being paramount in his philosophy. Franz is working with a few of our old friends to make Wabi-Sabi come to your doorstep. He is the blend master at the end of the day and is behind the collaboration between all of these talented young winemakers.

Philosophy

Wabi-Sabi is all about the philosophy of biodynamic farming. The producers even grow their own herbs for tea tinctures to use as treatments in his vineyards. The wines are all spontaneously fermented, lightly filtered, and minimally sulfured only at bottling keeping with the purity desired by the natural wine crowd. The difference with these wines are their approachability to the entire consumer base. Everyone can appreciate the cleanliness, flavor, and precision of this juice regardless of their interest in natural wines. Here is how to sum up bio-dynamic farming:

1. Biodynamic farming is an older and much stricter way of farming than organic farming. It treats the vineyard or farm as a closed eco-system. Nothing gets into the wine if it is not naturally present in the vineyards.

2. Beyond being organic, biodynamic farming practices are guided by the lunar calendar and many special rules. They do not allow additions like yeast to help or control the fermentation. Instead, 9 preparations are used throughout the year to strengthen the farm’s soil and plants.

3. Often biodynamic farmers are fairly eccentric, but as a rule they are always committed to the most natural winemaking practices. Being biodynamic is time exhaustive and expensive, so a lot of hard work in the vineyard is required.

Is it the harvest based on tidal patterns, or is it a great wine maker spending a ton of time and attention to detail in the vineyard? We don’t know, but the resulting juice is often amazing.

“Being organic is not a trend, it’s a lifestyle and we have been living it for over 35 years. Avoiding all sorts of chemistry is our philosophy. Regarding the environment, natural water, nutrition and particularly in terms of wine. A healthy soil is the key to remarkable and exciting wines. Especially if no boundaries are being set for the development of wines in our beautiful cellars.” -JZ

Something Random

The Austrian Anti-Freeze Scandal of 1985 was parodied in the first season of The Simpsons, Episode 8: Crepes of Wrath. In that episode, Bart becomes an exchange student and goes to France while the Simpsons welcome a student from Albania (of all places). In the end, after months of mistreatment by his host “family” he finally learns enough French to run up to a police officer and describe his mistreatment. The officer just pats him on the head and tells him to run along- that is until Bart mentions that his hosts put anti-freeze in the wine! Everything stops, the hosts are arrested, and Bart is proclaimed a national hero. The real reaction was not too dissimilar! Just goes to show you that being a first mover is an advantage and that The Simpsons were ahead of their time even in 1989!

Video: What's In the Box- February 2024

  • Join Master Sommelier Andrey Ivanov and our resident wine writer Allyson Gorsuch as they chat about Wabi-Sabi, the February offering of Bliss Wine Concierge's Wine Club. This is a one-time collaboration between Ivanov and Johannes Zillinger from Austria. We will cover topics like the solera system, qvevri, biodynamics, and accepting the beauty of imperfection.

Wines Tasted:

  • Ancestral Pet-Nat Solera MV (bottled 5.15.2022)
  • White Solera MV (bottled 5.15.2022)
  • Pink Solera MV (bottled 5.15.2022)
  • Red Solera MV (5.15.2022)

Wabi-Sabi

by allyson gorsuch

What constitutes Bliss Wine Imports and the wines they choose?  Quality, innovation, and respect for the
land–and the viticulturist, the “seer” of the land. Johannes Zillinger at Wabi-Sabi embodies these values fully.

Zillinger has pushed the line in many ways–from farming, to grape variety choices–he is always thinking ahead. His wines are, therefore, thoughtful, and perfectly constructed.

Biodynamics can be misunderstood. Are the farming practices legitimate (and I think they are) or is it the meticulous winemaker/vintner that makes the best wine possible? We will dive into this more deeply–but Zillinger is doing something
special. 

Biodynamics is a system of farming that relies on the lunar cycle. As for farming incongruence with celestial influences, it makes sense to me. Farmers have been doing it for thousands of years. Take the moon for instance, just look at the ocean’s tides. They happen, rising and receding every day. Why is it so hard to believe in that same effect on living things? If a plant is pruned during a period where the moon is pulling away from the earth during its synodic cycle, doesn’t it make sense that the sap would more readily flow if the moon was pushing back toward the earth? Ultimately, Biodynamics believes in the energy in this world. The ethos of Biodynamics lies in respecting the forces of nature. And, it makes better wine! 

Video: What is a Qvevri?

What is Wabi-Sabi?