So this post has been a long time coming. I took the photo in January 2021, assuming that I would drink both Gut Oggau bottles (I originally drank the Weinland Weiss Theodora 2019) and post it in a relatively fast pace, but whelp, I was wrong. It was one of those things where you kind of forget you have a bottle and never have the timing right when you do stumble upon it. Luckily, @whatsarahdrinks was with me when I stumbled upon Gut Oggau Atanasius Rot 2019 this past time and we decided to open it.

I’m sure you’ve seen the Gut Oggau bottles many of times. Gut Oggau is a project in the small town of Oggau in Burgenland, Austria, started by Eduard and Stephanie Tscheppe in 2007. Before starting the winery, Eduard made conventional wine with his father in Styria, and Stephanie’s family owned and operated the Michelin starred restaurant Taubenkobel. They painstakingly restored the 17th century winery that had been abandoned for 20 years, including its 200-year-old screw press. The vines’ 20-year period of neglect was fortunate, as this allowed for all pesticide and chemical treatments to be washed away. This let them begin working immediately on vines biodynamically, where they are now fully Demeter certified.

This cult following Austrian natural wine producer creates labels featuring portraits reflective of the personality inside each bottle. They created a family of wines: each wine is given a name of a family member and artist Jung von Matt draws a face for each label. The children—Atanasius, Theodora, and Winifred—are wines that are more forthright, light, bold, and energetic. The parents—Joschuari, Emmeram, Timotheus, and Josephine—come from vineyards with a little more direct sun exposure and therefore more ripeness producing wines with more body and power. The grandparents—Mechtild and Bertholdi—are from two single vineyards of older vines that produce the most traditional wines from their lineup.

Weinland Weiss Theodora 2019 | So I took these notes a year ago…The wine is made from a blend of biodynamically-farmed and barrel-aged Gruner Veltliner Welschriesling. It was pale gold in color and super cloudy. It had a pronounced nose of golden apple, lemon peel, pear, grapefruit, ripe tropical fruits, which traveled to the palate. It was light and dry with medium acidity and a long finish. Sean’s notes: Tastes like a fermented children’s drink.

Atanasius Rot 2019 | So I took these notes when we were already at least three bottles of wine in…The wine is a 50/50 blend of Zweigelt & Blaufränkisch produced from biodynamically-farmed fruit and sees three weeks of skin contact prior to barrel vinification. It was pale to medium ruby with a hint of purple. There were notes of red cherry, cranberry, and blackberry. There was a hint of some barnyard funk. It was a little fizzy, like light pop rocks—so very fun. Light bodied, medium acidity with tight tannins. A fun wine.

Have you ever tried Gut Oggau’s wines?