5 minutes with... Our interview with Gerhard & Brigitte Pittnauer
8gb: Hello Gerhard & Brigitte! How nice to have a few minutes with you to talk about the winery and your wines. For those who don't know you yet, what makes them so special in your eyes?
Gerhard & Brigitte: "We have always placed drinking pleasure above high ratings in the wine magazines. This means that even our red wines were and are always somewhat lower in alcohol and tannin content, but elegant with animating acidity. The same is true for our mash-fermented white wines. Although cloudy in appearance, they are relatively clear and approachable in aroma and flavor; with the rosés, the drinking pleasure is self-explanatory."
8gb: What do you like to eat with your wines? Which pairings do you like?
Gerhard & Brigitte: "At home we like to cook creative Italian and Asian dishes and always find exciting pairings. When we have international visitors, we tend to serve traditional dishes to show that the Pittis' wines also go well with Krautfleckerln or goulash."
8gb: Mmmmh Krautfleckerl!!!
40 years in daddy's footsteps
8gb: Was it always natural for you to produce natural wine, or how did it come about?
Gerhard: "I took over my parents' business now almost 40 years ago, and made wine the way I had learned from my father."
Gerhard: "That is, exclusively hand harvest, spontaneous fermentation and aging in large wooden barrels. But that was not yet natural wine, because the sulfur content was higher than today. Of course, I also had the phase with new wood, because that corresponded to the spirit of the times. But at the same time, I fermented a white wine on the skins as early as 1997, just because I was interested in how that tasted."
8gb: What is one of the biggest life lessons you've learned so far since making your own wines?
Gerhard & Brigitte: "That you just have to stick to your vision long enough, not be discouraged by setbacks, to eventually get to your goal."
8gb: What true and inspiring words! Are there any role models in the region or even abroad that have particularly inspired you?
Gerhard & Brigitte: "In the first place for us are the Styrian winemakers of the "Schmecke das Leben" group, first and foremost Franz Strohmaier, Werlitsch and Sepp Muster. They did their thing when it was not yet a trend and were absolutely groundbreaking for today's natural wine scene in Austria."
8gb: If you had the opportunity to start all over again today, would you do anything differently?
Gerhard & Brigitte: "Yes, we would work biodynamically from the beginning and save ourselves the detour with the barriques."
8gb: What is the most beautiful thing for you in the whole winemaking process?
Gerhard & Brigitte: "That we can give free rein to our creativity, starting from always new methods of fermentation and aging, to the creation of new cuvées with countless tastings, to the design of the labels and packaging of our bottles."
Pitti by Nature
8gb: Creativity is definitely not neglected in your wines. We love the colorful designs and the attitude to life which they convey. What can we expect from you in the future?
Gerhard & Brigitte: "We will maintain our personal wine style and yet always evolve. That means there will always be surprises from us."
The 5 favorite wines of Gerhard & Brigitte Pittnauer
Thank you very much for the time and the exciting insights. We are already looking forward to many more surprises from the Pittis.
Did you like our interview with the Pittis? If you want to learn more about our winemakers, you can find an overview of the 8gb winemaker family here!