Looking back, it was at Raw Wine in 2017 when I first met Alex and Maria Koppitsch. Their wines were lovely, and equally as important, to me at least, so were its makers. I found it inconceivable that they didn’t have a UK importer. Maria was back again the following year, along with her sister. They had suffered from the very low yields afflicting Burgenland in 2016 but the wines were now even better. They had a couple of companies importing their wines, but distribution was rather restricted by their size and scope.

By the time I met up with Alex and Maria in Vienna in January 2019 things were looking up. They had given their labels a refresh and their wines were beginning to get noticed around the world. That the UK was being left behind a bit infuriated me. Jascots, who were then representing them in London, only seemed to list four of their wines. Fresh Wines in Scotland also imported a little, but their main sales seemed to be via farmer’s markets up in Perth & Kinross, although I was able to order a little online.

Alex & Maria in Vienna, 2019

Thankfully they have now found a home with Roland Wines, whose excellent list enables Koppitsch exposure to the London natural wine scene and beyond. In fact, I can source these wines in Edinburgh via Roland’s distribution up here, and that means all my favourite Burgenland producers can be purchased via a short ride into the city, in this case to Cork & Cask in Marchmont.

But perhaps we should head back to Austria. Burgenland’s shallow Neusiedlersee is without question one of my very favourite places in Europe. It’s far from just being about the wine, but the lake is almost ringed with vineyards and wine culture here has been strong since at least the 1400s. The Koppitsch family farms vineyards located at the top (north) of the lake, and are based in the town of Neusiedl am See. I’ve mentioned before how this is one of two very convenient places to start a wine tour around here, being a fairly short train ride from Vienna, and boasting a cycle hire shed right next to the railway station.

The lake itself is unusual, to say the least. It is the largest endorheic lake in Central Europe, meaning that it is a drainage basin with no outflow. It covers 315 square kilometres, most being within Austria, but around 75 square kilometres at its southern end are in Hungary. It measures approximately 36km in length and at its widest point, about 6km wide. Its maximum depth is estimated to be just under six feet (or 1.8 metres). The whole area is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The surface area of water is surrounded by reed beds which cover at least twice the area of the lake. This is one reason that Neusiedlersee has become a major bird sanctuary, especially for storks, which can be viewed nesting in the lakeside villages. Most of them appear to prefer picture-postcard Rust on its western shore, making this village the most visited destination for tourists. The lake also has around twice the concentration of salt as most inland lakes. This, and the wind which whips over it from the Pannonian Plain, and which helps to keep the vines pest free, also gives the lake an air of the sea about it. It can get quite stormy on the water despite its shallowness.

Reed bed inlet looking out onto a bleak Neusiedlersee last August

Weingut Koppitsch is a small operation. They have around six hectares of vines which have been in the family for half a century. The terroir, sloping down to the lake, is largely a mix of clay, loam, sand, and gravel, but they also have vines on limestone and schist at higher elevations. Alex learned winemaking from his father, who had already embraced what we now call natural winemaking. Alex introduced biodynamics but the lake itself, with relatively low rainfall (though too low in 2022 with the water being at its lowest level I’ve ever seen it), makes chemical-free grape growing easier than in some places.

Alex takes care of winemaking, but his father still lends a hand, especially in the vines. Maria has their three boys to look after, but is in charge of comms, and is definitely a big part of the team, and the winery’s identity. That identity, which I think was not fully understood a few years ago, is (as Alex says) to “…make natural wine. Hence we reject all forms of artificial additives”. Natural yeasts are always used, no temperature control, and usually zero added sulphur. It should perhaps be stressed that Alex claims these vineyards have never been sprayed with conventional vineyard treatments.

The new 2022 vintage recently arrived at Roland Wines, so what do they currently have on their list?

Homok is a white blend of 40% each of Grüner Veltliner and Welschriesling with 20% Sauvignon Blanc from 30-y-o vines on sand. Whole bunches are pressed into a mix of fibreglass, acacia and stainless steel, with around six months together on lees. £24.

Perspektive Weiss is an equal blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder) grown on a rocky limestone hill called Neuberg (at 260 masl). Most of the juice was direct pressed into old barriques, but 25% was fermented on the skins for eight days. Ageing is on gross lees for ten months. £28.

Touch 2021 is half Welschriesling and half gemischter satz (a co-fermented field blend of, in this case, both Grüner and Brauner Veltliner, Welschriesling, Weissburgunder, Neuburger, Sauvignon Blanc, Muskat and Traminer, plus a few they can’t identify). It’s an amber/orange wine, but is easy to drink and not at all tannic. £26.

Rosza is described as “fresh summer lemonade with sour cherry, strawberry, litchi and a hint of orange peel”. It’s a darker “Rosé”, whole bunches of Zweigelt and Pinot Noir (40% of each), with St Laurent and Syrah direct pressed in a vertical basket press, then transferred to a mix of fibreglass and stainless steel. Alex is quite a fan of fibreglass and I think some of these tanks are outside, which brings to mind the wines made by the late Sean Thackrey of Marin County. The varieties were co-fermented and saw six months on lees. £24.

Pretty N^ts (sic) is Alex and Maria’s glorious petnat, made from equal parts Blaufränkisch and Syrah. Off limestone and schist, they make just 3,000 bottles and it’s worth snapping up. It has been aptly described as a “berry punch” but I’d also draw attention to its mineral salinity. As I await the 2022, I am about to pop, as I write, my last bottle of 2021 tonight. Yes, it is sunny here. £27.50.

Rét is comprised 80% Zweigelt with 20% St Laurent off gravel, and is described as “dark cherry pecan pie”. It’s usually concentrated but easy to drink, seeing eight days skin contact before six months ageing (a mix of acacia barrels and fibreglass). £22.50. Rét is Hungarian dialect for Red, and evokes the Hungarian heritage around the lake, despite its proximity to Vienna.

Abendrot 2021 is a cuvée I’ve not yet had the pleasure of trying. The grapes, Welschriesling, Rosenmuskateller, Chardonnay, Weissburgunder, Blaufränkisch and St Laurent, come once more from the elevated Neuberg. Various ageing and fermentation methods were used for each individual variety, but ageing was on lees for eleven months. This 2021 was bottled in August 2022. Although the wine is comprised of both red and white varieties, I’m told it has good structure, and a note suggesting raspberry, lime, rhubarb, and grapefruit sounds very appealing. £28.50.

Perspektive Rot 2021 (70% Blaufränkisch, 30% St Laurent) is off limestone, the favourite soils for Blaufränkisch in this region, usually hillside vineyards on the Leithaberg. Ageing of 22 months on lees in barrique suggests (correctly) that this is perhaps more structured than many of the more glouglou wines Alex makes, and will benefit from a little time in bottle. To that end he added 5mg of sulphur at bottling. £27.50.

A Quite Soft Light 2019 is a special cuvée. Whereas most of the Koppitsch wines retail in the range of £20-to-£30 in the UK, this one goes out at £48. It’s a special selection of two barrels of Blaufränkisch, one from limestone soils and one coming off schist. Ageing was for 30 months on gross lees and in this case, Alex didn’t add any sulphur. Just 600 bottles were made.

All wines are biodynamic natural wines with zero sulphur added and from the 2022 vintage, unless stated. These arrived with Roland a few weeks ago and I know that they are currently going out for retail distribution.

If you want to try these wines, Roland have put together a six-pack containing Homok, Rosza, Rét, Perspektive Weiss, Abendrot and Touch, which comes with a Koppitsch tote bag and branded waiter’s friend corkscrew, for £155.

**This week sees a rise in duty on wine, with new complicated rules. Whilst Champagne and sparkling wine duty will actually go down by 0.19 pence, the rest is all upwards. So bear in mind the prices quoted may be more by the time you next visit a wine shop or web site.

I know this sounds a bit like an advertisement for Roland Wines, but I have no commercial relationship with them, and will receive no free wine etc. I shall be buying my 2022 Koppitsch locally, retail. I do, however, love these wines and very much like the people who make them. That’s why, along with the likes of Renner und Rennersistas and Gut Oggau, they continue to get plugged by me.