We have received a much-awaited shipment of wines from Wabi-Sabi. We are excited to introduce them to the market.

Rather than providing detailed information and stories about the wines, vineyard, and winemaker, I want to share here why I am particularly interested in this project:

Wabi-Sabi wines are not only delicious, but also smart and modern. They cater to the preferences of contemporary drinkers. This type of wines has the potential to shape the future of wine consumption and prevent hard seltzers from becoming the default choice for new drinkers. They are versatile and appeal to both wine enthusiasts and beginners. They can also be the gateway and the introduction to the world of wine. Here are a few key characteristics:

• Light and fresh, showing extreme drinkability, and relatively low ABV with good acidity.

• Balanced and clean, extremely clean for natural wines made without additives but with little SO2.

• Fun and not intimidating, not embracing a wine lingo cryptic to newcomers. Not emphasizing grape varieties, winemaking techniques, or any other complex denomination.

• Obviously environmentally friendly, embracing sustainable practices.

• The lineup offers a progression from simple yet delicious wines to unique more complex and rare cuvées.

• And last but not least, they are reasonably priced and offer great value.

Introduced that way, you might think these wines are just a marketing gimmick.  Well, absolutely not. These are real terroir-driven artisanal wines. The winemaker, Franz Hofstätter, believes that the essence of wine is the pleasure and the joy it brings, and not the technical details behind it. Is it important to immediately discuss the grape variety DNA, if it is franc de pied, massale or clones, if the maceration was 3 weeks or 6 months? Well, it surely is for us, wine people. We love geeking about these details, but maybe the modern drinker doesn’t, at least not as a first approach… and that’s why I’m seeing Wabi-Sabi wines for the modern world.

The winery is located in the Wachau region of Austria, northwest of Vienna. Franz produces both negoce wines (white labels) sourced from his partners who are small-scale growers practicing organic and biodynamic farming, as well as estate wines (black labels) from his own small vineyard. For more information about Franz and the wines, visit his profile on our website.

The white label (négoce):

Love and Passion White: a very fresh yet floral white wine. A crowd pleaser.
Love and Passion Red: an easy, chill-able light red with almost no tannic footprints and nice acidity.
Orange Moon: a blend of different maceration for this orange wine that also shows a fantastic balance between structure, body and aromatics.

Ancestral Rosé: the only sparkling wine from the estate, made following the ancestral method (aka PetNat). No SO2 on this one. The acidity is compelling, the aromatic charming. We were absolutely in love from the first time we tasted.

The black label (estate wine)

Riverside White: a very very serious Austrian white. Spectacular. Blending Grüner Veltliner, Blüten Muskateller, Weissburgunder, and Riesling to reach a perfect balance while maintaining the typicity of each of the grapes.
Riverside Red (blouge): drinking in a black glass, you might think this is a white wine. Well it’s a red wine blended with a bit of white, a Bl(anc)(R)ouge
a.qu.a.l.ei.t.en Blanc: Masterpiece. Precision, length, complexity, balance, resolution. A blend of Riesling and Gruner Veltliner from “grand cru” quality single vineyard. Once in your mouth, you realize this is the perfect blend, or might be…

More details (price and spects) below. I can’t take to taste with you and hope these wines will please you and your customers!