Sekt and other great sparkling wines from around the world have always fascinated us. We wondered if it was possible to produce such wines in Styria. So, a few years ago, we embarked on the implementation of this exciting endeavor. A good sparkling wine is really like a good wine. It’s all about finesse, structure, and liveliness.
To create wines of this kind, we had to look within ourselves and establish a direct connection between people and nature. Transitioning our operation to biodynamic farming was, for us, the logical evolution of our work. Now, we want to focus more on enjoyment and simplicity.
‘You have to love the risk when you break away from conventional winemaking.’
Hannes is a man of contrasts, constantly shifting between inner balance and unceasing spontaneity. His drive is to do things that others don’t. Hannes’ thirst for knowledge and his constant urge for personal growth continually lead him to new projects and challenges. Biodynamics now provide him with more freedom and inner peace. He prefers to wander through his vineyards or tend to his Shropshire sheep, which have been a solid part of the Harkamp family for several years.
‘Biodynamics reaffirms our actions and helps us understand our vineyards, our wines, and ultimately ourselves better every day.’
In the future, Hannes believes it’s crucial to further enhance quality. When it says Harkamp, you should taste Harkamp: the house style, the unique philosophy of winemaking and sparkling wine production, and the origin should be unmistakably present in the glass.
Since 1994, Petra has been the woman by Hannes’ side. With her loving and energetic nature, she is a crucial driving force within the Harkamp operation. The daily challenges in the business rarely unbalance Petra. In the winery, she primarily handles product management, marketing, sales, and together with Hannes, business and operational management.
What particularly excites Petra about her profession is working with nature.
‘The opportunity to produce wines and sparkling wines that we ourselves enjoy is wonderful. And because we are winegrowers, we were able to turn our hobby, good food and drink, into our profession.
There are many reasons for this.
One of the main reasons for this decision was that we have always enjoyed wines and champagnes that are based on biodynamic principles.
It instills a sense of ‘added value’ in the vineyard and the cellar; it has a calming and balancing effect on us.
Through the biodynamic farming of our vineyards, we see that they become even more sensitive to environmental influences. We apply humus in the form of compost to our vineyard areas that are particularly meager.
Only a healthy, humus-rich soil can withstand the significant weather and climate challenges of our times.
Our wines and sparkling wines are not primarily built on primary fruit, which means they require less sulfur to achieve our desired flavor profile. Sulfites help preserve the primary fruit character in the wine for a longer period.
We reduce sulfite additions gently, also to improve the digestibility of the wines. Some of our products, such as the wines in the terra cotta line, are also produced completely without added sulfur. We do not follow a dogma here but operate based on the principle ‘as much as necessary, as little as possible.
Through biodynamic farming, we have reduced the vigor of our grapevines and brought them into a beautiful balance. This allows us to decrease tractor passages in the vineyards.
In the future, we will be able to operate with battery-powered, self-driving vehicles or drones. The lightweight design of these devices will enable us to reduce carbon emissions.
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