Julie Hoch "Elderflower #1"

To make this naturally low ABV sparkling botanical wine, Julie starts by making a tea during harvest, with the pure petals of the flowers. When the grapes come in, she blends the tea with the fresh grape must, about 70% grape must to 30% tea, and captures the natural fermentation in the bottle. The sparkling botanical wine finishes fermentation dry and naturally has 7% ABV. The floral notes are present, but beautifully integrated, with the juicy aspects of the Grüner and Zweigelt fruit. The wines are complex, but not complicated – fresh, dry, floral, truly delicious and of course, unique like all of Julie’s creations.

Elderflowers, which grow very robustly in this part of Austria, are handpicked from the vineyards in May at the fullness of their blossoming and slowly dried to retain all the delicate essential oils. During the grape harvest, they are processed into teas which are then blended with fresh grape must and directly filled into the bottles to naturally ferment without additives. All wines are bone-dry and superbly refreshing, displaying low alcohol contents.