Winemaker Fritz Miesbauer is the newly crowned Falstaff Magazine '2020 Winemaker of the Year. ' This is the leading winemaker award in Austria and this year is a little different as Fritz is head honcho at BOTH Weingut Stadt Krems and Stift Göttweig. How he had time to excel at both sites???

Fritz looks after just over 40 hectares currently owned by the city of Krems, including numerous parcels in exceptional sites. The vineyards are among the oldest in the region and were gifted to the city in 1452 (noting vineyards have been cultivated on the site in various forms for 900yrs). Fritz arrived at the helm in 2003, having already worked wonders on what is now Domäne Wachau.

By the time he got here, Stadt Krems had lost much of its lustre. “I was always convinced that the estate’s vineyards held tremendous potential,” Fritz is now able to reflect. But to realise that potential, mountains of work had to be done. Among other things, they rehabilitated vines and trellising, completely replanted 29 hectares, restored ancient stone walls on 5.4 hectares and went through four phases of renovation, expansion and modernisation of the cellars. Fritz’s team also grew from four employees in 2004 to 23 in 2020

This typical Veltliner is tangy and light. This is because of the good loess soil and the very good climate. In the first weeks of October the grapes were handpicked with strict selection. After they were destemmed and pressed carefully, the must was fermented under controlled temperature in a stainless steel tank. It’s fresh and fruity with notes of pineapple and grapefruit. It has pleasant acidity and flavours of pear, pineapple and grapefruit on the palate, finishing crisply.