With a name like Fritz Wieninger, you have to trust that wine is wine is in his blood. Fritz is a pioneer of the New Vienna wine movement, combining modernity and progress with the traditions of the region and of his family, who have been making wine for over 100 years. Fritz is the winemaker for two Viennese wineries: Wieninger, and Hajszan Neumann. Hajszan Neumann is Fritz’ natural project, where he has greater flexibility to experiment with low-to-no intervention winemaking techniques. Both wineries are certified biodynamic; Fritz is the co-president of RESPEKT with Fred Loimer, as well as a founding member and chairman of the Wien Wein growers association. The vineyards and wineries are in the heart of Vienna, Wien as the locals call it, and the only city in the world where vineyards flourish inside city limits. Steeped in history, the Nussberg vineyard sites house some of the oldest vines in Austria.

Fritz grew up in the family heurige (wine tavern) serving the wines produced by his mother, one of the first female graduates from the enology program at Klosterneuburg. After completing his studies and spending a year in California, Fritz returned to Vienna intent on producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. He was encouraged by Franz Mayer to continue growing Gemischter Satz, a field blend of different white varieties cultivated and vinified together. Typical grapes include Grüner Veltliner, Welschriesling, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Neuburger, and Traminer. Gemischter Satz has been a traditional wine of Viennese heurigen, following Joseph II’s decree releasing wine sales from the State to the producer. In fact, the heurigen culture originated from the sale of Gemischter Satz, as winemakers sought a way to share their seasonal bounty in an approachable, easy way. It was the original farm to table wine.

The style fell out of favour as consumers started gravitating towards single-variety wines. In the late eighties many Gemischter Satz vineyards were dug up, left fallow, or replanted with a single variety. However, a few winemakers in Wien were determined to bring Wiener Gemischter Satz back and reclaim their cultural wine from obscurity. Among these pioneers was Stefan Hajszan, who was the first winemaker to cultivate his Wiener Gemischter Satz vineyards, 20 hectares on the Nussberg, biodynamically. Thanks to Stefan and other winemakers, Wiener Gemischter Satz garnered a DAC designation since the 2013 vintage. This is the first time an Austrian wine style as well as a growing region has been codified.

Weingut Hajszan Neumann is located at the foot of the Nussberg and the district of Grinzing, with 20 hectares of certified biodynamic vineyards spread across the mineral rich weathered limestone soils. All wines are native fermented, with low inputs. The NATURAL wines were fermented on skins in concrete eggs for 5 months before being moved to older 500L barrels for an additional 6 weeks. The wines are bottled without fining or filtration.