Weingut Prager Steinriegl Federspiel

West of Weißenkirchen (a municipality located in Lower Austria), limestone, marble and silicate soils abound, a unique composition that is almost impossible to find in the rest of the country. These special soils, located in the Steinriegl vineyard (west of Weißenkirchen) are home to the Riesling that is used to make Weingut Prager Steinriegl Federspiel.

This single-variety wine is the creation of Weingut Prager, one of Austria’s most famous and well-known producers thanks to their single-plot wines. In this winery no two glasses of wine are the same, and Ilse and Toni Bodenstein, the couple who have been running this company since they inherited it from her father in the 1990s, know this very well. In fact this couple was responsible for its revival, largely through the work of Toni Bodenstein, who before embarking on this adventure conducted an in-depth geological study of the Wachau, one of the most fascinating regions in the world (it has even been declared a World Heritage Site). Located in the middle of the Danube valley, between Melk and Krems, its origin dates back millions of years, when the Danube gradually eroded the soils. This meant the riverbed managed to forge a path, transforming the landscape into vertiginous terraces and steep slopes. As a result, the geological variety of this area is immense, with mostly rocky soils where Riesling and Grüner Veltliner have managed to firmly take root.

At Weingut Prager, these native varieties grow in the 16 hectares that the winery has spread throughout the area: an oenological jewel aged over 60 years old that produce some of the best white wines in the world. Organic farming, stainless steel vinifications (where they try to avoid wood) and minimalism in the winery are the principles that this company has decided to really focus on. It is true that in their day they were revolutionary, but decades later they have demonstrated that this is the only way to showcase the uniqueness and true character of each of the plots of land they own. As the winery’s slogan says “From rock to wine”, with nothing to interfere between the terroir and the palate.