Peternell Risque Blanco

Burgerland, Austria’s easternmost state, is where some of the richest and most opulent red wines are produced. However, this area, located in the north of the country, is also the land of other very fine and complex wines, like Peternell Risque Blanco.

Peternell Risque Blanco is an orange wine made by Kollektiv Peternell from the coupage of two native varieties: Riesling and Welschriesling. The planting of the latter decreased slightly between 1999 and 2020. But at Kollektiv Paternell, which doesn’t currently have its own vineyard, they buy this grape from local growers. Both varieties respond very well to the warm and temperate summers that are typical of the area. This heat is reinforced by Lake Neusiedl, the largest lake in Central Europe, where during summer days the large body of water heats up. Later in the evening, this stored heat is slowly released, maintaining the warmth of the grapes when the thermometers drop. All this warmth partly counteracts the low temperatures and snow of winter. Likewise, in these sandy and clay soils (which in certain places are mixed with pure gravel and limestone), this company, run by Paul Schuster, Dave Ferris and Simon Ecker, has found the best expression of these whites, cultivated biodynamically and with minimal intervention in the winery.

As soon the Peternell Risque Blanco grapes reach the winery, they will be made in the same way as a red wine. The first step is a pre-fermentation maceration, without destemming, which lasts 3 days. It is these days when a spontaneous alcoholic fermentation will begin, using native yeasts, in stainless steel tanks. From there, Peternell Risque Blanco is devatted and pressed, and then returned to stainless steel tanks where it ages for almost a year. During this time, Peternell Risque Blanco also undergoes malolactic fermentation. A white wine on the same level as the best reds in the area.