The Fritz family winery is located on the right bank of the Danube, in the idyllic wine village of Thallern, a southern district of Krems. Rudolf Fritz is responsible for the wines, which come from a cultivated area of twelve hectares. The young graduate of the Krems viticulture school is fully committed to the typical Kremstal varieties Grüner Veltliner and Riesling "because," as he emphasises, "they produce excellent wines every year due to the climate here and the local soil types". Nevertheless, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gelber Muskateller and some Zweigelt are also grown in the vineyards.
Soil health, pest-friendly plant protection and a well-functioning ecosystem are of particular concern to the young winemaker, as are short pruning, targeted foliage work and yield reduction in order to be able to harvest grapes of high physiological ripeness.
Rudolf Fritz only processes grapes from his own vineyards, which - depending on the variety and condition - are either pressed immediately or left on the skins for a few hours. The wines are then fermented in temperature-controlled steel tanks. While the white wines are matured exclusively in stainless steel, the red wines - after up to three weeks of maceration and subsequent malolactic fermentation - are matured in large wooden barrels, sometimes also in small wooden barrels.
Route
