Herbert König: I’m Just a Passenger

We first met in London, one morning before a tasting. I was having coffee on the street outside and there was this very funny and smart guy in a hat, with striking light blue eyes. I didn’t know where to place him—I just had a hunch he might be a winemaker. I remember thinking, “Who the hell is this guy?” That afternoon, I tasted his wines, and everything clicked into place.

My second memory of Herbert is from La Dive – of the passion, detail, and enthusiasm with which he presents his wine. He gave it his all—just like he does with his wines and phenomenal fruit juices. They produce them together with his brother Karlheinz from their 3 hectares of orchards of heirloom fruit trees like bird cherries, quince or pears, planted by their trailblazing grandfather Friedrich more than half a century ago.

Following in his spirit, Herbert and Karl-Heinz took back their family vineyards (after years of leasing them out due to the untimely death of their father) and started to share the fruit of their tiny & lush Kittenberg paradise with the world. Starting with only a few plots, they’re now working with 4 hectares of vines on slopes around their winery in Kittenberg. The wines take time to mature in their cellar and, given the small quantities, are not that easy to get by (as is often the case in Styria – fellow lovers of the Tscheppe family jewels know what I mean. Their Czech importer Alma Wines gets a small allocation, though), but so worth the hunt…

Words by Milan Nestarec & Lucie Kohoutová / Photos Lucie Kohoutová & courtesy of Wachstum König

Tell me more about your grandfather, the pioneer.

When we think about our region back in his day, it was not easy to cultivate orchards or vineyards here. Before and after WW2, there were no specialized, professional farmers in our region, just small family estates with mixed agriculture. The thing we all try to come back to now [laughs]. My grandfather Fritz was one of the first who tried to make a living out of farming. He also was very into politics and tried to bring up a proper law that would help the small farmers to get professional. He also wrote 3 books about farming, soil and biodiversity.

Biodynamics is a word that's thrown around a lot, but in your case, I believe it's much more than a buzzword. What does it mean for you? And were you somehow brought up in this philosophy or was it more of a journey?

I think that biodynamic farming is the only way we can handle the problems that agriculture will face. We – I mean the biodynamic farmers – made a lot of mistakes in the last 40 years. I am so happy that our generation now has such a strong movement – it is so important that we are all connecting worldwide. We have to speak more about our problems in order to solve them together. I love the idea of biodynamics and the way of living and working in an organism. We have to learn that we are just passengers. I think biodynamic is always a journey. In my case, I learn something each and every year and try to really focus on what my plants, my animals, and my family need.

I was surprised to learn that you also used to run a restaurant in Graz – what was it like?

I've always dreamed of having a Wirtshaus [traditional Austrian restaurant] and being the Wirt – Host – there. So together with my friends Markus Neuhold and Jakob Schönberger, we took over one of the oldest Wirtshäuser in Graz, in 2016. Laufke, as it was called, was a very special place with a lot of good people around and authentic, regional and seasonal food. We also had the biggest wine list in town and I could taste everything I was dreaming about. This was very important in order to understand what I really want to produce at my farm. Ultimately, I stepped out in 2022 to dedicate myself fully to our winery. By the way, Laufke is also the place where I was showing my first juices there and learned a lot about juice pairings.

Speaking about the devil – you guys make fruit juices without any preservatives at all. What's the secret?

We are very lucky to work with our old orchards, planted by our grandfather between 50 and 70 years ago. We took them back from lease in 2019 and changed a lot in the farming process and system. We try to get smaller, more intense fruit and also reach physical ripeness with lower pH and sugar level. It’s thanks to this low pH that we don’t have to pasteurise them, because they are so stable on their own.

How does the fruit production influence your wine and vice versa – or do you see them as two completely separate things?

I learned a lot from the fruit for my vinifications! As farmers, we are able to help our orchards and vineyards to achieve a certain level. It also showed me how to manage the problems with the changing climate and that unique zero-zero products are made outside, not inside.

I think there's a prejudice towards non-alcoholic drinks in the sense that people expect them to be cheap, because it's considered "less" than alcohol – do you ever get these comments? And how do you deal with it?

Before we started, I always heard „You can’t start with low and no-alcohol drinks at this price point! It's too expensive!“, when describing the idea to my winemaking friends. But once the people tasted the juices, nobody was speaking about price anymore. And that’s exactly what I experience now. It's not about price! We work in 15 countries now with an allocation system.

Styria has no shortage of great winemakers – I suppose you were influenced by people like Sepp Muster or Franz Strohmeier and the whole Schmecke das Leben group, but I'm curious to know how exactly.

It's a real privilege to have these legends of Schmecke das Leben in my region. Also Karl Schnabel and the Ploder Family. I think that after 20 years of their work in biodynamics in our area, there are no excuses anymore. When you look at their farms, it's so amazing to see how much they achieved, in therms of healthy growth, healthy natural organism and passion for work and life.

Any other inspirations and icons from Austria and beyond?

So many good people in our community in Austria! The Burgenland boys like Christian Tschida, Claus Preisinger, Franz Weninger, Markus Altenburger, Michi Wenzel. Also Max Gruze from Carinthia. There are so many more but if I continue we would have to publish a whole another interview [laughs]. As I said before, it is so important to talk with each other and collectively learn from the problems we all face.

What's the climate and soil like in your part of Styria?

We are based here at Kittenberg in the beautiful Sausal, which is known for its schist soil. Our vineyards are not located directly on the schist massif which means that we have different soils despite the small size. There’s limestone and blue and red schist. This is why I really focus on working with each plot separately.

You only make white wines, if I'm correct – is that a deliberate choice or more of a coincidence?

I took over the old existing vineyards here on our farm, planted with white grapes. I'm not a big fan of planting new vineyards. I always work with the plots I have and try to make the best out of it. White wine is the tradition in our region. But I think we have the potential to make great red wines here. I got the chance to work with a very old vineyard in Flamberg, planted with Blauer Wildbacher and Schwarzriesling. So there will be 2 reds coming in 2 years I think! Never say never [laughs].

I like to ask colleagues about fuck ups, not to poke fun at others, but justly because I’m curious about others’ life paths an eager to learn from shared experience, as you say. I have made a million fuckups myself, I think they are important and shape us into better people, hopefully. Do you have any such thing that was important, even life-changing from today's perspective?

I also fucked up a lot in my past. These difficult situations or wrong decisions are essential in our work. I think the 2022 and 2023 vintages were very important for me. I had a very hard time in the vineyards and very low yields, but that’s whereI learned a lot about them.

You worked at the storied Erich & Walter Polz winery in South Styria, what did this experience teach you? And are you still benefiting from it?

Yes, I worked there for 8 years. I worked in all the parts of the winery operation and had a lot of responsibility for my age back in the day. It gave me a really good idea of what I want to do here at home and I also got to know a lot of good people from our industry.

You like to say "the future is now". I think it's great. There's nothing to wait for. Could you please elaborate on how you understand this creed?

[Laughs]. I think Peter Honegger [of Newcomer Wines, UK importer of both Wachstum & Nestarec] and Moritz Herzog [of Weinskandal] were using this slogan to describe our idea of Wachstum König. I really liked it because I think that you always have to live in the moment and make the best of your situation. Especially when we face hard or difficult times. There is always something good, also in the worst moments!

How satisfied are you with your colleague Fritz, the vineyard robot? For me, the fact that you’re using it is a clear message about how open-minded you are. Do you think this forward-thinking mindset is something that you inherited from your ancestors, grandfather, father?

Fritz is the future, and the future is now! Here in Styria, the most dangerous thing for winemakers are the very steep slopes together with the wet conditions. I’d know as I lost my father in a tractor accident! I really don’t want to risk my life every day.

When I heard about the robot idea from our friend Robert Kögl-Rettenbacher I was immediately on board. We got the first prototype and we obviously had some issues with it at the beginning, but now, after 4 years, I can’t think of a better solution. The robot does our spraying and we also built a mowing system last year. You should come and see our soil now, after 4 years without any tractor in the vineyards. The robot weighs only 350 kg. That should also be the future for our soil.

My classic final question: is wine an art?

I think wine is a craft, very simple and pure. It's the art of letting your organism flow.

THIRSTY FOR MORE?

CHECK ALL OUR WINEMAKER INTERVIEWS & NESTAREC MUSINGS