Weingut Knoll, Loibner Grüner Veltliner, Federspiel

Austria’s Wachau appellation is the most notable and acclaimed region of Austria and is represented at its best under the guidance of producers like Knoll. About an hour northwest of Vienna along the Danube River, the vista of the steep, terraced vineyards creates a magnificent landscape akin to a green, ancient amphitheater. Emmerich Knoll’s 15 hectares rest around the village of Unterloiben, which is considered one of the top areas in all of Wachau. The soil in this pocket of Wachau is predominantly loess with a touch of decomposed granite. The loess soil is a granular particulate that, in my personal experience, clumps together in your hand like a baseball then turns to a sandy-like texture when it is squeezed. This soil is actually millennia in the making. According to a wine wisdom contributor who recently went on a research trip under the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, the belt of periglacial loess in the Wachau was deposited in this particular sweet spot during the Pleistocene e