Craft & Estate Portfolio Book

Szigeti

WINERY OVERVIEW Modern day Szigeti (pronounced ZIG-it-ee) was born in 1990, when brothers Norbert and Peter Szigeti returned to their hometown of Gols, Austria to take over the family business. Past generations had produced small quantities of wine in their village in a traditional mixed agriculture system. Norbert trained in enology and worked in a large sparkling wine firm in Vienna, while Peter completed hotel management school and worked both in Austria and abroad. The brothers combined their skills and increased knowledge of the market beyond their village to open the Sektkellerei (“sparkling cellar.”) Through traditional bottle fermentation, Szigeti seeks to produce “unmistakable fizz” with unique character. LOCATION OF VINEYARD Szigeti produces wine from a number of small farms on both sides of Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland. They work closely with the growers to ensure reliable and quality grapes that have been grown without chemical interventions. WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY Szigeti’s approach to the production of high-quality, affordable sparkling wine is simple. First, they insist on using only the finest grapes from carefully tended vineyards. Next, they generate a firm bubble using the méthode traditionnelle. The wines acquire a distinctive mousseux due to the use of yeasts indigenous to the classical Champagne region in France. The dosages are typically prepared with local sweet wines. For Szigeti, the bottle fermentation process must not hide the integrity of the fruit: the dominant perfumes and flavors of the wines should be of the variety and should not be masked at all by the yeasty notes of secondary fermentation in bottle. To showcase this philosophy, Szigeti crafts sparkling wines from a dozen different varietals, and the hallmark of each is varietal expression. There is no better example of the strength of this philosophy than the Grüner Veltliner Brut. Owned by : Peter and Norbert Szigeti Winemaker : Norbert Szigeti Founded in : 1990 Region : Burgenland Country : Austria Wines : Szigeti, Cuvée Prestige Brut Szigeti, Grüner Veltliner Brut Szigeti, Grüner Veltliner Brut 2011 Special Release Szigeti, Gustav Klimt Blanc de Blancs Brut Szigeti, Pinot Noir Rośe Brut Szigeti, Riesling Brut Spitzer Graben

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