Weingut Moric

Roland Velich is the passionate winemaker behind an Austrian red touted to rival Grand Cru Burgundy. While Austria is better known for its whites, Roland had a fascination with the unusual red grape, Blaufränkisch. So he left his family’s estate and set up Weingut Moric (pronounced Moritz) in the lesser known Mittelburgenland, which is close to the Hungarian Border around an hour’s drive from Vienna. Such was his determination, he paid for the estate using money that he’d saved working in a casino as a croupier. Roland now seeks out high yielding, old-vine vineyards, and vinifies the grapes as simply as possible, looking to bring out Blaufränkisch’s inherently pure, elegant character. As a self-professed Burgundy fan, his reds echo the finesse of Grand Cru Pinot Noir, and, rather than try to over-extract fruit flavours like some of his predecessors, Roland’s wines have a cool climate quality more commonly found in fine Nebbiolo or Northern Rhône Syrah. His top wine is a blend of eight different vineyard sites and includes some of the oldest vines that surround the village of Lutzmannsburg. These are unique reds which brilliantly echo their terroir.