Just a few hundred meters from the Hungarian border and just East of lake Neusiedl, lies the small town of Pamhagen. Brothers Erich and Michael Andert have been Demeter Certified since 2003 and their whole property is buzzing with life. Nearly everything on the property seems edible. Walking around the vineyard you can find large glass jars of fermenting vegetables or open a random door by a shed and find meats smoking and curing. Herbs of all sorts (Michael is a certified herb educator) hang from the rafters and there are countless tinctures littering the cellar floor.

Erich and Michael are also consummate hosts. The dinner salad made exclusively from their cover crops, local pumpkin seed oil for dressing, and every following dish comes with simple preparation done to perfection. There’s an attention to detail, not overworked or made too complicated, and always with incredible local ingredients. The joy of sharing a table with them is the same as sharing a bottle of wine. Michael works with the Vienna International School to promote Demeter certified products, harvesting and cooking with the children, and ultimately raise awareness and money for charity. This mindset speaks to everything that they do. As Michael told us, “We go inside the life.”

Right out in the middle of their 4.5 hectares is a giant chicken, goose, and duck coop. Just a few meters from there, there’s an area devoted to sheep. All are used for bolster the biodiversity of the property, supply fertilizer, and of course add to future dinner menus. Horns from years of biodynamic preparations are fixed along the fence line and hides of wild boars hang nearby to deter the deer. Depending on the year, the most potent spraying they have to do is horsetail tea.

Gemischter Sotz is a melange of co-fermented Neuburger, Grüner Veltliner, Malvazia, Muskat Ottonel, Sylvaner. It’s fresh and aromatic with a friendly streak of acidity. The Pamhogna white is 55% Rulander (Pinot Gris), 40% Neuberger and 5% Weissburgunder. This wine has an intense golden-yellow colour and a lovely herbal fragrance. It requires carafeing before all the elements harmonise – from the exotic white pear and pineapple fruit aromas to the refreshing acid and fine structure conferred by a gentle clasp of tannin. The Rulander takes us to Princic country, possessing an exquisite salmon colour with amber highlights. The nose is (sweet)meaty and a little bit smoky, the palate is smooth and almost velvety with suggestions of pink grapefruit, yet also salty with a bitter almond note on the finish.

Andert

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