NV Szigeti Brut

NV Szigeti (ZIG-it-ee) Brut 


What: 100%  Gruner Veltliner
Who: Norbert and Peter Szigeti
Where: Gols, Burgenland, Austria
Tastes Like: Bright and tart, fine bead and aromas of green apple.
Pairs With: Great aperitivo, lighter dishes

The Where: Few other places are as closely linked with first-class wine as the market town of Gols in the heart of the Neusiedler See-Seewinkel wine-growing region. Gols is decidedly lucky in terms of location. The interaction between Parndorf heath to the north, the Seewinkel in the south, the heath land in the west and lake Neusiedl in the east, results in a delicate microclimate which produces excellent wines.

The Who:  Sektkellerei Szigeti (pronounced ZIG-it-ee) is a sparkling wine house located in the winemaking village of Gols in Burgenland. The company began in 1990 when brothers Norbert and Peter Szigeti took over the family business. Past generations of Szigeti produced small quantities of wine in their village in a traditional mixed agriculture system.  The brothers operate Szigeti as a négociant, buying fruit from contracted growers and owning no vineyards, yet they make a broad range of wines, all by méthode traditionnelle, and all made in fresh style with clear varietal expression.

The What: Wine made from 100% gruner veltliner grapes from a number of small farms near Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland and Niederösterreich. Szigeti works closely with growers to ensure that all grapes have been grown without chemical intervention.  All Szigeti sparkling wines are produced by méthode traditionnelle, a highly labor-intensive bottle-fermentation process. For Szigeti, the process of méthode traditionnelle must not trump the integrity of the fruit. In other words, the dominant perfumes and flavors of the wine should still be those typical of Gruner Veltliner, and should not be masked at all by the yeasty, fermentative flavors of secondary fermentation in bottle. Only Champagne yeasts are used throughout the vinification process and dosages are prepared using local sweet wines.