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- Stagård Front View
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- In the 1,000 year old Wine Cellar
Swedish Pride in the Wachau/The Swedish Connection
Stagård Winery, Stein, Kremstal/Wachau, Austria
Stagård Winery is a family run and owned, located in Stein, in the Kremstal/Wachau region, just outside Krems, Austria. The winery and vineyards have been owned by the Karl family (Kenneth Stagård’s wife, Elisabeth’s family) since 1786. Kenneth Stagård left Sweden some 30 years ago to work in Austria, at a nearby power station to Wachau. He met a wonderful Austrian woman around this time and decided to stay. Kenneth learned the winemaking trade by doing, with the help of Elisabeth and her family. The winery continues to be operated by the Stagård family. A joint effort, Kenneth and his son, Urban handle the vineyards, wine making, and Heurigen by night. Elisabeth runs the Heurige on the inside and out, keeping up the property and making the delicious cuisine for guests. Urban’s girlfriend, Dominique, runs the office and administrative side of the business; marketing, sales and their website.
The family’s property started with 2 Hectares and is now 11 Hectares, growing the region’s typical varieties of Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and Zweigelt. Their oldest vines are 40 to 50 years old. Beneath the Heurigan is a 1,000 year old wine cellar, containing massive wine vats, which have carvings on the fronts, artistically crafted by Urban’s grandfather. A 1936 vintage bottle of wine resides on the premises.
Urban T. Stagård attended Fachshule Krems (Weinbauschule Krems) and continues his education through hands on experience and consulting a great friend and winemaker from Germany. Sitting down with Kenneth and Urban, much earlier than typical Heurigen hours begin, I asked them about their wine making style and philosophy. Stagård is 1 out of 4 completely organic wineries in the region and quite passionate about it.
Herbicides, pesticides, artificial fertilizers, and synthetic sprays are not used. Instead, the use of Valerian tea, Stinging Nettle and homeopathic substances are employed. Not dissimilar to their ancestors, they use a lunar calendar to determine when to plant and harvest grapes. Being environmentally friendly is very important to the Stagård’s. To them organic means “Getting as much power and energy as possible into the wine whilst interfering with nature as little as possible.” (taken from their website)
Making organic wine and wanting to spend as much time in nature and as little time in the cellar, Urban states that following these philosophies will produce “…Lively, fruity and light wine that brings the health and naturalness of the soil to the bottle…If you now happen to hold a glass of such wine; enjoy it, and remember that you are holding a product of nature in your hand.”(taken from their website)
I asked Urban how he is going to proceed with the current vintage after such a rainy summer in Austria. He said, “I will not wait for the cellar, I will pray for sunlight. Let nature do its thing. I like to spend as little time in the cellar as possible.”
When asked what he wants to be known for Urban replied, “I want to be the best winemaker in the region.” There is no rivalry between him and fellow winemakers in the region, they consult each other and discuss techniques.
It is evident that the Stagård’s are enthusiastic about sharing every area of their ‘business’ with their visitors, from the regional terrior, to wine varieties, to history, down to the town of Stein.
Wines
Stagård’s white wines are completely done in stainless steel tanks, while the Zweigelt is partially done in oak. Their vineyards at Steinhund (Rock dog/or Dog rock) are all stone ground, which Urban says are the best vineyards in the region for Riesling. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling spend 11 months in stainless steel, then bottled to sell. The Reserve spends 7 months in stainless steel tanks, bottled, and sold one year later.
Grüner Veltliner Pfaffenberg 2008 (2 vineyard) 12.5% alcohol
Floral on the nose. Palate; Floral, citrus fruits, green apple. Great with fish, pasta, versatile with food.
Selektion Grüner Veltliner 2008 12.5% alcohol (8 vineyard)
Pepper and apple on the nose. Melon on the palate.
Paired well with medium cheeses and soups.
Grüner Veltliner D.U. 2007 13% alcohol
Wood, pepper and licorice on the nose. Pepper and mineral on the palate.
Riesling Pfaffenberg 2008 (4 vineyard) 40 and 50 year old vines.
Apricot on the nose, minerally palate.
Goes well with white meat, fish, and vegetarian cuisine.
Urban Riesling 2008 11.5% Alcohol
Young, fruity, tropical. Pfaffenberg typical.
A great everyday drinking wine, versatile dinner wine, appetizers, etc. Good up to 2 years.
My picks: Grüner Veltliner D.U. 2007, Riesling Pfaffenberg 2008
The Heurige
“Original Heurige”, not to be confused with Heurigen Restaurant, means cold food, no coffee, and no sweets. They do, however, have an exception at this location, with ‘Schweden Würfel’ (Sockerbitar) a Swedish dessert, which is a very soft Marshmallow like square covered in toasted coconut.
Fresh, local ingredients are used in making the traditional Swedish foods. The menu includes pickled Herring, Pepper Lax, caviar with eggs and slow roasted salted beef with Swedish potato salad. Austrian specialties are also served. Though I did not have a chance to try any of these dishes, I was offered some Sockerbitar, which were quite good. I look forward to going back to try their meals.
Statistics
Under ownership since: 1786
Property: 11 Hectares
Vines: 40 to 50 years old
Wine cellar: 1,000 years old!
Oldest wine bottle: 1936.
Total wine production: 16,000 liters. Per year.
Wine price range: 5-12 Euros
Export: Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Finland, Japan and Switzerland.
Awards: Received 3rd place (92 points) in the Chicago Beverage Tasting Institute
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