Kolfok "Intra! the Wild" 2022 Skin Fermented Blend Burgenland, Austria

750ml bottle

12% abv

Grüner Veltliner 60% - Welschriesling 20% - Chardonnay 20%

Stefan Wellanschitz, the winemaker at Kolfolk, likes the physical qualities of skin-fermented wines, or "orange" wines on the palate, but he wanted a way to make one that was also elegant, not just tannic and out-there.

Enter intracellular fermentation: intact, uncrushed grapes rested in a large fermentation vessel where native yeasts slowly started the fermentation process inside of the berries, leading to a gentler extraction from the skins. After maceration, the grapes were gently pressed off to finish fermentation in 1100 and 1500L (i.e. really big) used Stockinger oak barrels. The blend is dominated by Gruner Veltliner with some Welschriesling and Chardonnay. This unique winemaking approach results in a tropical-but-elegant white wine, full of structure, pale in color, with notes like a fistful of flowers and smooth phenolic texture. No sulphur added.