orange wine set with ieva elvyra

sven enderle — baden, de | müller-thurgau 2022

estate müller-thurgau from baden (≈45–50-year vines on limestone) blended with fruit from a respected organic grower in the mosel on slate/schist — a rare cross-region take that reads as salty, linear and bright rather than soft. short skin time and a cool stainless élevage keep it snappy, with that limestone x schist tension doing the heavy lifting.

about the winemaker
sven enderle (ex-enderle & moll) is now bottling under his own name; the style remains low-intervention, biodynamics-leaning, neutral oak, and very light touch — the same contrarian spirit that made the original project famous for precision and delicacy. recent releases confirm the solo chapter, while the old “e&m” story (tiny cellar, basket press, old vines) explains the dna behind the wines.

franz weninger — sopron, hu | szürke, fehér & kék 2023

co-fermented pinot noir, pinot blanc, pinot gris from sopron — a pinot “trio” that pours between pale orange and rosé with a gentle prickle, citrus-pith bite and herbal finish. the key is sopron’s rock: gneiss and mica-schist right up to the surface, warm, dry, and poor — very different from nearby burgenland’s limestone — so the wine shows stony grip rather than creaminess.

about the winemaker
franz (with petra weninger) farms across the austria/ hungary border; vineyards are certified biodynamic (demeter / respekt), ferments are spontaneous, sulfur is modest, and texture/terroir trump make-up. the sopron crus (e.g., steiner) are benchmarks for schist-driven wines in hungary.

strekov 1075 — nitra, sk | porta #8 (solera; devín & aurelius)

“porta” is zsolt sütő’s ongoing solera of skin-contact whites led by devín and aurelius — an amber blend with floral/apricot notes and a subtle, nutty, sherry-like edge from the fractional blending across vintages. vineyards sit on clay-loam over limestone and ancient marine sediments around kürt/strekov, giving both breadth and a saline snap. expect a firm, slightly oxidative style with long, savory finish.

about the winemaker
zsolt farms ~12 ha around the village of strekov: organic, hand-worked, native ferments, long macerations, old barrels, and essentially zero sulfur — a “zero-makeup” house that helped put slovakia’s nitra on the natural wine map.

keltis — štajerska (bizeljsko), sl | sivi pinot 2020

pinot gris with real bones: organic/biodynamic fruit from marl/sandstone/clay–slate mixes in breezy bizeljsko; a few days on skins, then a year in used 500-l barrels gives copper color, grip and a dry, savory core instead of simple fruit. in 2020 a touch of botrytis added spice/umami to the apricot-tea profile.

about the winemaker
the kelhar family (keltis) are early biodynamic adopters in slovenia. cellar work is minimal: hand harvests, native ferments, no fining/filtering, minimal-to-zero so₂. the house style is pure and textural across pét-nat, skin-contact whites and structured reds, with sivi pinot a reference for serious, dry “ramato” from the region.