Kristinus Wine Estate: farming high quality grapes and crafting exceptional wines in a biodynamic way

Since the first day, the aim of the Kristinus Wine Estate has been farming high quality grapes and crafting exceptional wines in a biodynamic way. The core value is to prove every day that nature is the better partner, both in the vineyards and in the cellar.

As far as biodynamic farming, the team firmly believe that transparency is a key factor. That was exactly the main motive behind their transition in 2018 to become a Demeter-certified winery. Certainly the rockier road, but the team wouldn’t set its standards any lower. Huge milestones ahead: in the fall of 2021, they will harvest 100% organic certified grapes, thus earning their place in the worldwide family of biodynamic growers, Demeter the following year.

Each bunch, each berry bears an imprint of a year – the Kristinus Wine Estate`s duty is to create an environment where their authentic character can be exposed, as to experience true distinctiveness between the vintages. They strongly believe that human activity should be resonating with nature’s cycle, therefore they are committed to make the least possible impact on the environment while growing high-quality grapes and crafting elegant, vibrant wines that truly reflect the sense of their place.

The way they farm the grapes outside obliges them to treat the wines in the cellar as gently as it gets with the least intervention possible.

The team is convinced that its wines would exclusively reach the most unique character when employing spontaneous fermentation (Pied de Cuve), and when keeping any unnecessary additions, like “fining” agents, far from its cellar. They also prefer malolactic fermentation to set in naturally and strive for crafting the wines with a very low level of sulphur-dioxide.

Vintage after vintage, the challenges of making the right decisions for the sake of quality consistency and for the sake of uniqueness inspire them greatly and demand an experiment-centered mindset. In moments of cluelessness, taking one step back and letting nature solve the problem seems to always be the best way to go about it.

The general goal with the vessels was to minimize their impact on the wines’ intensity and character, and to ensure an ideal micro-oxidative environment. The past five years, the main focus has been on amphoras from Hungary, clay eggs from Italy and large, neutral barrels. The cohesion of the Kékfrankos and their 1200 l Stockinger barrels for instance is something that keeps the team on the edge of their seats.