A striking balance of ripe, layered fruit and lean, mineral structure. Citrus, orchard fruit, and subtle herbal notes meet a firm, tactile palate shaped by extended skin contact. Bright acidity and a stony, saline finish keep everything taut and focused. A serious, textured Welschriesling like no other we've had before. Like all of Herbert's wines...no fining, filtration, or added sulfur.
Wachstum König
Some visits stay with you long after you’ve left. My visit to Herbert König at Wachstum König in Styria this past May was one of the most impressive producer visits I’ve had. It’s difficult to explain what makes this place so special without experiencing it firsthand, but it starts with Herbert himself: quirky, exceptionally knowledgeable, and deeply passionate about wine, fruit, and the land that sustains them. Spend a little time with him and you get the feeling that this is exactly what he was born to do.
Wachstum König is a family farm in Kittenberg, in the steep hills of southern Styria, with a history that stretches back generations. Herbert, his brother Karl-Heinz, and their mother Anni are carrying forward a legacy begun by their grandfather, Friedrich König, an agricultural pioneer who studied and wrote about farming, soil, and biodiversity long before these subjects became fashionable talking points. The family’s work encompasses vineyards, heritage fruit orchards, and animals, with each part of the farm contributing to the health of the whole. For Herbert, this knowledge doesn't seem to come from a textbook. It feels instinctive, like an ancestral intuition, something absorbed over a lifetime and passed down through generations.
Walking the estate, that connection becomes tangible. Sheep graze among the trees and vines, ducks roam the property, and the ground is teeming with life. I saw enormous salamanders moving through the landscape. Nothing felt sterile or overly managed; the farm seemed to operate according to its own natural rhythms, with a remarkable sense of balance. This is biodynamic agriculture as a living practice, not a certification or a set of techniques to put on a label. The aim is to understand what the land, plants, animals, and people need, and to work with those relationships rather than force them into submission.
The vineyards themselves are strikingly steep, and farming them comes with real risks. When Herbert was young, his father died after his tractor overturned in the vines. Herbert has since refused to work the vineyards with a tractor, turning instead to a lightweight vineyard robot for tasks such as mowing and spraying. It's a decision rooted in a deeply personal loss, but also one that reflects his willingness to find a better way forward. The robot puts less weight on the soil, while allowing the family to continue working these challenging slopes. Tradition matters here, but not at the expense of common sense or progress.
The same care extends to the family’s orchards, where old varieties of pear, quince, and wild cherry produce remarkable juices and fermented drinks. These aren't an afterthought to the wines. The fruit is farmed with the same attention to maturity, acidity, and the character of its origins, and the juices are made without pasteurization, filtration, or additives. Herbert has spoken about how much his work with fruit has taught him about winemaking, particularly the idea that the most important work happens outside, in the growing of the raw material. At Wachstum König, that principle applies whether the fruit ends up in a wine bottle or a bottle of juice.
Then there are the wines. Tasting through the 2023 vintage from barrel was one of the highlights of my trip to Austria. Comparison is supposedly the thief of joy, but I found it difficult not to draw parallels as I worked through the lineup. The Sauvignon Blanc brought Bruno Schueller to mind; the Muskateller reminded me of Tom Lubbe; and the Blauer Wildbacher evoked Jean-Pierre Robinot. These are distinctive producers with their own unmistakable voices, and I don't make those comparisons lightly. What struck me was not that Herbert was imitating anyone, but that his wines already showed a similarly individual sense of character, texture, and conviction. He is still at the beginning of his journey as a winemaker, yet the quality and personality of the wines suggest someone with the potential to stand among the very best.
Herbert is also connected to a wider generation of thoughtful growers and winemakers. Among his plantings is Savagnin propagated through massal selection from Katie Worobeck of Maison Maenad, a variety he has yet to vinify while the vines mature. It's a small detail, but a telling one: Herbert is building for the long term, exchanging ideas and plant material with people who share his curiosity about what wine can be.
What makes Wachstum König so exciting is the coherence of it all. The farming, the orchards, the animals, the juices, and the wines aren't separate pursuits. They are expressions of the same deep curiosity about the natural world and the same commitment to working within it. Herbert has inherited a remarkable agricultural legacy, but he isn't simply preserving it. He's finding new ways to carry it forward. After spending time at the estate and tasting the wines, I left convinced that Wachstum König is a name worth paying close attention to. The 2023s, in particular, are wines I'm thrilled to be able to share.
-Ryan
