Selection: the wooden barrel has its say
In the winemaking of the Selection the wooden barrel has its say without taking centre stage.
White wine
About half matures in wooden casks (500 litres), the other half in stainless steel. The steel share keeps the malic acid and with it the freshness; the wood share goes through malolactic fermentation over the winter. In summer the two parts are blended. That gives the balance between malic and lactic acid.
These wines usually come out of the barrels at the end of July, and bottling takes place at the end of August.
Red wine
For the Selection the wine spends twelve months in used barrels; we never use new ones for it. It isn't about oak flavour but about letting the wine breathe.
Why used barrels
A barrel stays in use with us for a long time. The oldest date from 2006 and 2007, and each is filled five to eight times. For the Selection we only use barrels that have already held wine.
That way the wood gives off hardly any flavour but lets the wine breathe. It becomes rounder and the tannins softer. In the barrel portion we stir up the fine lees again and again over the winter.
The Selection whites thus combine two worlds: the malic acid from the steel tank and the lactic acid from the barrel, blended into one wine in summer.
With Rotgipfler, the Selection includes a variety typical of the Thermenregion. Its grapes come from Ried am Tiefenweg in Leobersdorf.
We also pour Selection wines by the glass at the Heuriger. Which ones are on is listed in the menu.
To taste through them: the white Selection wines are in the Frühwirth Dark tasting pack, the reds in the Frühwirth Light pack.
Wines of the Selection line
Each name leads to an overview of all vintages of that wine.
- Chardonnay selection: white wine, vintages 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
- Nepomuk cuvée selection: red wine, vintages 2023, 2022, 2021 · harmonious, easy-drinking
- Pinot blanc selection: white wine, vintages 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
- Rotgipfler selection: white wine, vintages 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
- St. Laurent selection: red wine, vintages 2025, 2023, 2022, 2021
- Zweigelt selection: red wine, vintages 2025, 2023, 2022, 2021
More about the cellar and why we work this way: Cellar.