Kalk & Kegel: „A Wine Cooperative Reimagined.“
Kalk & Kegel is a popular wine platform and stands for a young, sustainable wine movement in Austria. Sonja Planeta has taken a close look at the developments of recent years – towards a unique, revolutionary cooperative concept and the work of the Domäne Wachau vignerons.
The headline “A Wine Cooperative Reimagined: Domäne Wachau Sets New Benchmarks Worldwide” already gives a lot away. Sonja Planeta, journalist at Kalk & Kegel, researched the path of Domäne Wachau “From underdog to the region’s trailblazer!”. Over the past two decades, under the leadership of Roman Horvath MW and Heinz Frischengruber, numerous far-reaching and sustainable changes have been initiated and implemented. As a result, “their revolutionary concept is unique in the world today,” says Planeta at the beginning.
The work of the Domäne Wachau’s vignerons is worldwide unparalleled and the basis of its success: “Extremely fragmented vineyards, steep hillsides, cool climate: The Wachau is considered one of Europe’s most spectacular and important winegrowing regions. Working these terraces is challenging and complex. A huge share of those vineyards is not accessible to machines. The 200 vignerons at Domäne Wachau cultivate one to two hectares of vineyards each on average, many alongside other professions or as part of mixed agriculture. All are deeply rooted in the region. They are craftspeople in their own right, working based on a strict quality model, a precisely coordinated harvest plan, and a comprehensive micro-vinification concept for their individual parcels. Given the complexity of the Wachau terroir (differences in elevation, east/west location, situation on the right or left bank of the Danube, different orientations and topsoils of the vineyards), this kind of meticulous overview is essential for each individual piece of micro-terroir. All fruit is harvested by hand and exclusively within the family association.” In addition to the work in the vineyard, the article also sheds light on the social and ethical components of our cooperative and its influence on the entire region and surrounding wineries.
Many thanks to the Kalk & Kegel team for the insight into our unique cooperative concept. We hope you enjoy reading it!
