Weingut Ingrid Groiss

Ingrid Groiss's path back to the family vineyards in Breitenwaida, a village in the Weinviertel of Lower Austria, was not a straight one. After a corporate career that took her to Coca-Cola, she returned in 2010 to take over from her father, having first studied winemaking at the Universität für Bodenkultur in Vienna and gained practical experience at Domäne Wachau and Birgit Eichinger. The handover came, as the story goes, through a blind tasting in which her wine beat her father's. She has been making the wine ever since.

The family has grown grapes in Breitenwaida for generations, originally supplying fruit to a local cooperative and operating a traditional Heuriger, or family wine tavern. When Ingrid took over, she converted the estate to organic farming, achieving full certification in 2016. All wines have carried the organic certification from the 2019 vintage onward. The field hare on her labels, a nod to the wildlife that shares the vineyard habitat, reflects her commitment to farming in balance with the surrounding landscape.

The Weinviertel is Austria's largest wine region, a gently rolling landscape of forests and farmland north of Vienna and stretching to the Czech border. Its name, "wine quarter," tells you everything about how central viticulture has always been to this part of Lower Austria. The region holds DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) status for Grüner Veltliner, its signature variety, and the soils here, primarily chalk, marl, and limestone, produce Grüner with a precision and mineral clarity that distinguishes it from the heavier expressions found further south.

Ingrid's Grüner Veltliner range spans from the entry-level Weinviertel DAC through the single-vineyard Ried Sauberg and the Ried Pankraz Reserve, each expressing a different face of the variety: the characteristic white pepper and citrus of a cool-grown Austrian white, with a textural depth that comes from minimal intervention in the cellar. The Riesling, grown in gravel, sandstone, and flint soils in Fahndorf and Ziersdorf, shows a stony precision and long finish that places it firmly in the dry, Alpine tradition. The Ried Hasenhaide Rosé, a blend of Pinot Noir and Zweigelt from chalky soils, is pale, crisp, and made to be drunk with food.

Briffa Wine Selections is the exclusive importer of Weingut Ingrid Groiss wines in Malta. These are wines made by one of Austria's most compelling young producers. Browse and order online.