Weingut Knoll is a family operated winery based in the Wachau, Austria’s most premium winemaking region, with its steep vineyards sloping all the way down to the Danube river. The soils here are a mix of alluvial and loess on the bottom of the hillsides whilst the slopes are largely comprised of gneiss. Knoll is one of Austria’s most famous wineries, having bottled wine since the 1950s. Their iconic wine labels depict the image of Saint Urban, patron protector of winegrowers; this image was first used on their labels in 1962. The wines are made by Emmerich Knoll, who is the 3rd generation winemaker and runs the family winery along with his wife Anja. Knoll farms 18 hectares of owned vineyards, along with 6 hectares of purchased grapes from very old contracts. The main focus is on Grüner Veltliner and Riesling but the family also makes a small amount of rosé and some Gelber Muskateller. Knoll produces wines under the classic Wachau quality pyramid of Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd – these are based on must weights. The wines are either labelled as village wines (i.e. Loibner) or come from a single vineyard (‘Ried’ in German). The vineyards are farmed with a sustainable philosophy but are not certified. The wines are all fermented in a mix of large old oak vats and acacia. Federspiel wines are transferred into stainless steel post ferment and stay there until they are released the following spring. Smaragd wines stay in these vats until August. These are long lived wines, the Smaragd level wines in particular have always displayed great ageing potential.