This sparkling rosé is based on the Blaufrankisch Rosé above, with extra juiciness and fizz coming from secondary fermentation in bottles.

Vineyard: several plots in the lower part of the Hohenegg hill, part of them one-wire trained, which is quite typical for Styria. Vines planted in 1980, 1984, 2000, 2002 on Opok soil – limestone and clay silt. Certified biodynamic, estate owned.

Making of: Grapes are hand-harvested into small crates, with manual selection in the vineyard. Destemmed, crushed and pressed, in open pneumatic press. Both the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations happen spontaneously in old neutral French barriques and 300L barrels. The wine spends about 12 months in total neutral oak casks, before being bottled with addition of organic yeast and organic suger that kickstart the second fermentation in bottle. Disgorged in the spring of the following year (the exact date is stated on the label). No fining or filtration, no sulfur added, zero dosage.

Personality: garçon, somebody had put red berry juice in my bottle of sparkling! No, but seriously, all these cranberries, pomegranates, rosehips, barberries, where do they come from? Oh, now that I chew on it a little bit more, maybe this tangy smoked pepper touch and a bed of roses nesting on a nice dry finish say the Blaufrankisch grape is the culprit…

All Tauss’ vineyards lay on one hill called Hohenegg, a beautifully green sun-laden slope with a chapel dedicated to St. Urban – the patron saint of winemakers – at the top.
Besides the immaculate winery, the Tauss’ property also features a cozy, fully eco-friendly hotel that takes advantage of its beautiful verdant surroundings, with wellness and yoga classes, run by Roland’s wife Alice – a tip for your next holiday retreat, perhaps?