About natural wine and the courage to embrace it

With Günter Naturwein
taste and understand

The glasses clink softly as Günter pours the first wine. The light is warm, the candles illuminate the 300-year-old vaulted cellar, an old Venetian table, and the guests are expectant. Some examine the glass skeptically – the wine is cloudy, almost amber in color. A white wine that looks like runny honey.

Günter raises his own glass, turns it slightly, and examines the liquid in the candlelight. "Before you taste it, I'd like to ask you a question: When was the last time you drank or ate something without having any expectations?" Silence. Some frown. "I mean it," he continues. "Most of the time we reach for things we know. We seek security. The taste we're used to. The wine we've had before, the food that doesn't surprise us. But natural wine is different. It's not a guarantee. It's an experience. You have to be willing to embrace it.

Some guests exchange meaningful glances, then cautiously sip their glasses. Some hesitate. Another smiles. One raises his eyebrows in surprise. "It's like a trip to Norway," says Günter, slowly placing his glass on the old table. "You drive down a winding road. You don't know what's around the next bend. Maybe a quiet lake shimmering in the evening sun. Maybe a rugged cliff with waves crashing against it. Maybe a village where no one speaks, but everyone looks at you as if they understand. There are no expectations. No security. Only curiosity about what comes next."

He leans against the wine rack, observing the reactions. Some nod. Others take another sip, trying to decipher the aromas. Günter leans back, slowly swirling his glass in the candlelight. He thinks of a statement by natural winemaker and former EAV musician Günther Schönberger that has never left him. He said, "Wine is culture. The vine itself isn't interested in wine. It only wants to grow, spread, climb over walls, reach the sky. It is humans who decide that from this wild plant something can emerge that tells stories. For millennia, we have taken the fruit of the vine and transformed it into something that wouldn't exist without us. Something that connects us."

Günter feels this thought unfold in the silence of the old cellar vault. The guests pause, taking in the words. Then he raises his glass. "And that's precisely why wine shouldn't be forced into categories. It should simply be good." He pauses. Then he points to the glasses. "This wine here – it wasn't made to be perfect. It wasn't tamed, polished, or standardized. It wasn't created for mass tastes. But for those who are curious. Who can open themselves up to it."

A guest looks at him. "So you don't necessarily have to like him?"
Günter laughs. "No. But you have to be willing to give it a chance. You have to be willing not to understand everything right away. And maybe, if you let yourself go, you'll discover something that will last." He raises his glass. "To the real. To the unfiltered. To the courage to be surprised."
The guests raise their glasses. And for a moment, there's something in the air—an understanding that goes beyond words.

An excerpt from our natural wine vinotheque

• Hareter Winery, Weiden am See
  Thomas and Claudia Hareter followed their vision of a better understanding of nature and converted their family winery in Weiden am See to biodynamic cultivation. Their wines reflect the terroir and a sustainable lifestyle. Such wines are a must in our wine cellar. A must for lovers of authentic taste and high quality.