Christian Tschida

Christian Tschida lives in the town of Illmitz on the shores of Lake Neusiedl and is the fourth generation of a family of winemakers. He took over the winery from his father in 2003. He farms 14 hectares of vineyards around Illmitz (old family vineyards) and on the other side of the lake around Purbach (he gradually acquired these vineyards).
He does not use any chemicals in the vineyard or in the cellar, the wines are not manipulated in any way. All wines are bottled without fining, filtration and since 2013 completely free of sulfur. In the vineyard, he uses his unique combination of his own compost and straw, and exceptionally uses sprays of fermented herbs and herbal oils. His vineyards look like a botanical garden. They are full of grass, flowers, herbs, insects and animals. Some of the vineyards are managed in a special double planting system, where 2 plants are planted close together, forcing them to compete for water and nutrients to the maximum. The roots then grow faster and deeper into the ground. Yields are very small, everything is subordinated to maximum quality.
Perfect and healthy grapes are pressed in the most gentle way. Tschida uses 2 unique presses. One of them is a Bucher - Vaslin basket press "Rolls Royce among presses", the other is a pneumatic vacuum press made to order in Germany. The pressing rate is only 55%, only the best juice flows out of the press. All wines ferment spontaneously and mature for at least 1 year in large Stockinger barrels, which are custom-made from several types of Austrian wood.
Every year, around 10% of the grapes are used for various experiments. Because as Tschida says: "Only those who walk unknown paths can discover something new".
Christian Tschida's hallmark is perfectly drinkable wines that are complex, have depth, an unmistakable signature and lower alcohol when the grapes are perfectly ripe.
His wines have fans all over the world and are also on the menu of the world's best restaurants from New York to Tokyo. In some countries, Tschida has a cult status. In conservative Austria, he was long called the "Enfant Terrible" (naughty child) of Austrian winemaking. After being named Austrian Winemaker of the Year 2016 by the prestigious Gault Millau yearbook, he gained great respect at home. It was the first time in the history of Austrian winemaking that a winemaker who works completely without sulfur received this award!

Christian was our guest at the grand opening of our wine bar HokusPokus winebar&tapas and a year later he repeated it at an epic pop-up with the Viennese restaurant Mochi, which boasts the award Bib Gourmand Michelin.

We have translated for you a comprehensive article about Christian in the Austrian Ala Carte magazine.

Christian Tschida, Illmitz, 8/4/2019