Christian Tschida

Christian Tschida, a free spirit of Burgenland

A family history on the shores of Lake Neusiedl

Based in Illmitz, in Burgenland, in eastern Austria, Christian Tschida represents the fourth generation of a winemaking family. He took over the family estate in 2003 and gradually developed his own path, today managing around 14 hectares of vines spread on both sides of Lake Neusiedl: around Illmitz in the Seewinkel, but also on the heights of Purbach and Leithaberg. Two very different faces of Burgenland, ranging from the sandy and gravelly soils near the lake to the cooler schist and limestone parcels on the hillsides.

Old vines and viticulture that leaves room for life

In his vineyards, Christian seeks above all to intervene as little as possible and to let the plants find their own balance. The parcels are farmed organically, with an approach largely inspired by biodynamics, cover crops, and no synthetic products. Some vines were planted in the 1960s, while some parcels in Leithaberg reach densities close to 9,000 vines per hectare. He works with a great diversity of grape varieties, including Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc, sometimes with several varieties grown in the same parcel.

Free wines, but far from left to chance

In the cellar, Christian Tschida likes to define himself more as a "tuner" than a winemaker: his work consists mainly of guiding the grapes rather than imposing a direction on them. Fermentations start spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, pressings are particularly gentle, and aging can be long, often in large neutral barrels. Since the 2013 vintage, no sulfur has been added during winemaking, and the wines are bottled without fining or filtration. Cuvées like Himmel auf Erden, Laissez-Faire, Non-Tradition, or Kapitel I sum up his world well: vibrant, deep wines full of energy, with great freedom in their form but always true precision in the glass.