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Weinbau Uwe Schiefer

“I cried after the hail on the 22nd of June 2013," Uwe Schiefer remembered. The storm completely destroyed the crop in his Eisenberg vineyards, which represent more than two-thirds of his production. But now he also owns vines in Neckenmarkt and Lutzmannsberg. “There will be very little 2013 and probably none from the top sites in Eisenberg,” he added.

With his blue glasses, tennis shoes and three-day beard, he is not one to be morose. Extremely energetic, he has almost singlehandedly put the Eisenberg in Südburgenland at the center of the debate of what constitutes great Blaufränkisch. Like Reinhold Krutzler, he long refused to be part of the appellation that was later created because it essentially allowed everyone in the southern part of Burgenland to use Eisenberg on their label, but he finally joined in 2014 in order to have a voice in what was being done.

Since he began with almost nothing in 1994, he has expanded his holdings in Eisenberg to 13 hectares, largely by recultivating steep slopes that have no irrigation. That, though, is exactly what he wants. Everything should be natural, even if it means losing 15% of the young vines he plants each year. In the cellar, he is equally adamant that "less is more," using no enzymes or cultivated yeasts and doing no fining or filtration. He also wants to extend the time his wines spend in wood, to as much as 36 months for portions of some of them, and to release them later, so he is now moving to much larger oak casks with thicker staves. However, he doesn’t want to miss the flavors of new wood and so he still purchases about 10% new 600-liter ovals each year.

“Two thousand twelve has less alcohol, more acidity and better potential than 2011,” he maintained as we tasted the current releases. "Two thousand eleven was a crowd-pleaser.” The only wine that I could compare from the two vintages was his Reihburg. At present, I see a neck-and-neck race that will be interesting to follow as these two wines evolve. One thing, though, is sure: Uwe Schiefer makes addictive Blaufränkisch!

From Austria 2013 (Sep 2015) by Joel B. Payne

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2013 Weisser Schiefer

Release Price: $23

Color: White

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