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Recenlty added to the Halle aux Vins family and our first Austrian producer, Johannes Zillinger is a philosopher and a passionate vine grower/winemaker who took over his family estate in 2012, continuing the vision of his father Han's who was a pioneer in Austria to start organic viticulture in the 1980s. With 40 years of organic methods the winery benefits from incredibly strong and healthy soils and vines, growing in the hills north and south of Velm-Götzendorf. Where the winery is located, at the edge of the Weinviertel region, the vines are grown upon the acidic granite of the 'Moravian Superunit' which weathers to quartz rich-sand. More than half of the vineyards are located on loess (glacial rock dust which can cover older rocks in varying thickness, providing calcium and acid substrates).

Although Johannes had a strong stamina to continue this philosophy and transformed the vineyards to biodynamic agriculture with the Demeter certification. The knowledge of winemaking has been passed from generation to generation, like Johannes learned from his father, therefor Johanne's style in his cellar is a combination of old, traditional and new methods like the use of amphoras to age his wines either for the fermentation or for the whole process. The wines can also be aged in traditional oak barrels made from Acacia trees from which Johannes marries up to several vintages using the solera technique. The majority of his wines are unfiltered, unfinned and are made without the addition of sulfur. "Healthy soils is key to making outstanding and exciting wines. This is especially true if we do not limit the development of wines in the cellar either. The most beautiful pictures are painted by nature and I frame these masterpieces with the tool of minimalist intervention."

Johannes works with classic Austrian grapes, like Zweigelt, St Laurent and Gruner Veltliner and some German like grapes like Riesling and Welschriesling, with some internationals like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.