Christian Tschida

We are in Illmitz, a small town on the shores of Lake Neusiedl in Austrian Burgenland just a stone's throw from the Hungarian border.

Christian took over the winery from his father in 2003 and represents the fourth generation of a family of winemakers. He cultivates 14 hectares of vines divided between Illmitz, where the oldest plots are located, and Purbach, on the western shore of the lake, where the newly acquired vineyards are located.

Its fields look like a botanical garden, blooming with wild herbs, without deep soil intervention. Natural compost and straw are used for mulching, only rarely when the vintage calls for it are fermented herb and vegetable oil treatments intervened.

In some vineyards, plants are grown “in pairs,” forcing them to compete to the maximum for water and nutrients. The roots thus grow faster and deeper into the soil. Yields are very low, everything is subordinated to maximum quality.