An experiment in organic and sustainable viticulture.
My Chapter Two is a work-in-progress.
After 25 years in corporate communications I’ve packed away my keyboard and suit for pruning shears and overalls to launch Kapitel Zwei Wine
(in English: Chapter Two) as I start the second chapter of my career.
In September 2021 I went back to school to start a three-year degree in viticulture and wine business. And to put theory to practice, and to keep things interesting, I purchased a small Austrian vineyard where I am growing white grape varietals: Chenin Blanc, Roussanne and Sémillon — my premier vintage will be bottled in late 2024.
Kapitel Zwei Wine
Our grapes will be handpicked from a single vineyard or “ried” called Kremsleithen, which was abandoned decades ago.
New grapevines from France were planted in May 2022.
CHENIN BLANC
SÈMILLON
ROUSSANNE
French grape varietals, grown in Austria.
Kapitel Zwei Wine is growing Chenin Blanc, Roussanne and Sémillon, and they will be aged in amphora and steel tanks in Krems an der Donau, Austria.
In addition, we will get the grapes of sixty 20-30 year old Riesling grapevines from a neighboring vineyard in 2024 and 2025.
Everything will be done in the vineyard — pressing the grapes, fermenting and aging. We may even try to bottle in the vineyard.
Why French grape varietals?
Good question and the answer is simple and practical. This region is famous for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling and there are hundreds of family wineries who have been making extraordinary wine with these varietals for centuries — so how could I compete?
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CHENIN BLANC (cheh nuhn blongk)
Jancis Robinson, the wine critic, called Chenin Blanc “a transhemispherical marvel” and I couldn’t agree more.
Chenin can be made dry, sweet and sparkling. Another benefit of Chenin, is that it adapts well to different soil types, vessels and climate.
Taste Profile: Honey, Yellow Apple, Pear
Clone 0220 with rootstock SO4 clone 0762
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ROUSSANNE (roo san)
I’ll be honest, Roussane was not a wise choice. It’s a challenging varietal because it tends to ripen unevenly, but it’s my favorite varietal so I had no choice but to try.
Roussanne is typically blended, but I think it could be interesting as a single varietal. I’m not aware of anyone else growing it in Austria, so lets experiment.
Taste Profile: Meyer Lemon, Chamomile, Brioche
Clone 0468 rootstock R110 clone 0237
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SÈMILLON (say me on)
Sémillon is well adapted to different soil types and in cooler climates it has less acidity.
I first learned about Sémillon as a sweet wines from Bordeaux, but I will make still, dry wines, which age on the lees.
Taste Profile: Lemon Curd, Beeswax, Peach, Grass
Clone 0173 with rootstock R110 clone 0237
I am learning, applying and testing new and established sustainable and organic viticultural practices.
Newsletter
2021
Drumroll…My En Primeur Newsletter
21 October 2021
Willkommen! This is my first Kapitel Zwei Wine newsletter - a rare collectors item - thank you so much for reading.
Soil Test, Labels and Varietals
16 December 2021
Before the year wraps up I thought I would give you a little update on the latest from Kapitel Zwei Wine with newsletter deux.
2022
Exams, Pruning and Progress
21 February 2022
Today is the first day of the second semester at IMC Krems University, which means I survived the first semester. To the amazement of myself and my tutors I passed algebra with a 74 percent on my final exam.
Aches and Pains
26 April 2022
It’s been a harrowing few weeks for us at Kapitel Zwei Wine as we prepare the vineyard for planting — today the vines were shipped from France to Austria 🎉. They were suppose to arrive last week but I delay the shipment a few times due to cold weather. If you can believe it, we had a few centimetres of snow earlier this month, followed by a dry period.
200 Vines Planted and New Labels
1 July 2022
200 vines arrived from France, including 100 Chenin Blanc, 50 Roussanne and 50 Sémillon. I would also like to give you a sneak preview of the new label designs. One little piece of the design is still missing as I wait for the art to be finished, but as we know in agile thinking, better to get feedback during the design process than only at the end.
Tips from France and Weather Challenges
13 September 2022
Dry, drier, desert followed by mist, rain and torrential storm is how I would describe July and August. Not ideal vineyard conditions, but the the French-made vines at Kapitel Zwei Wine seem to be doing just fine.
250 Days Later…
6 December 2022
It’s been 250 days since the first hole was dug at Ried Kremsleithen, the plot name of the vineyard in Krems…so where are we now?
2023
🐄 + 📯 + 💩, Merch! and 🍌🍌🍌
25 February 2023
While the vines continue to rest in their dormant state for several more weeks the vineyard has been bustling with human activity.
Clovers, Steel Tanks, Amphora and Disappointment
28 April 2023
Spring has officially arrived in Krems an der Donau, Austria, but if the vines at Kapitel Zwei Wine could talk they would tell you otherwise.
The Big Reveal
3 July 2023
Schools out for summer, an update on the 500P, red clover and the first photos of the redesigned tasting room.
It’s Harvest Time and Big Vintage News!
3 October 2023
I landed in New York on 12 August and three days later I started my 15-week apprenticeship at Paumanok Vineyards. The apprenticeship is a requirement for my three-year degree at IMC Krems. Now at the halfway point, until I return to Austria, I can confidently tell you that it’s been an incredible, intensive and sometimes stressful, learning-rich experience.
MLF? Gross Lees? What am I talking about.
12 December 2023
The first vintage will be a cuvèe of Grüner Veltliner from the talented duo at Weingut Feldtheorie and our own Chenin Blanc. After a little less than two weeks the must underwent spontaneous fermentation in a steel tank and now it’s in amphora where it is undergoing malolactic fermentation or MLF followed by aging on gross lees.
2024
First Tasting Notes & Pop-Up Wine Bar in Paris
28 February 2024
To rectify this atrocity and to launch my first vintage, from 1-28 February 2025 Kapitel Zwei Wine will host a pop-up wine bar in the heart of Paris. Joining us will be 27 other Austrian wineries where we will pour some of the best wines from the country, including red, white, rose, orange and pet nat.