The Historic Wines of Nikolaihof
The Historic Wines of Nikolaihof
As I was looking through some of my past offers on Austrian wine, I was a bit shocked to have realized that in all my time here I have included wines of Nikolaihof in themed offers or kept a few on the shelves, but never gave them the spotlight they deserve. As one of the most history rich wineries in the world, and one that so perfectly aligns with the heart and soul of CSW, I am really excited today to show off the stunning, singular, and unique wines of this fantastic estate.
Nikolaihof is one of the oldest estates in Austria and contains some of the richest history that I have ever encountered within a winery. The foundations of the estate date back to the Roman fort Favianis in 63 A.D. and wine has been produced at the estate since as early as 63 B.C. Over thousands of years the winery passed hands up until 1894 when Anton and Anna Saahs acquired it. They proceeded to continue the long traditions the monks had put into place by farming without the use of pesticides and herbicides. In the late 1960s Nikolaus and Christine Saahs were at the helm of the estate and they pushed even further by converting the farming entirely to biodynamic, achieving Demeter certification in 1998. This makes them one of the longest biodynamic practicing wineries in the world! In 2005 Nikolaus and Christine's son Nikolaus Jr. (Niki) took over and has since been joined by his partner Katharina Salzgeber who is now the estate's cellarmaster. In addition to vines, they also have a biodynamic farm with an array of herbs, fruits, and flowers that help support their beehives too.
Once picked, all the grapes undergo careful, mild pressings before being fermented with native yeasts. The wines all age in the estate's 700-year-old cellar that was built in a Roman crypt that stay incredibly cold. They use Austrian oak barrels that range from 2,000-12,000 liters to age the wines on the lees. What is even more special about so many wines from Nikolaihof is their extended aging and late releases. While so many Austrian producers are currently showing 2024s and 2025s, they have 2023s alongside wines from 2019-2008 that were recently bottled. These wines provide a unique lens into how spectacular Riesling and Grüner Veltliner age. With the extended time on the fine lees, this magical balance occurs of maturity alongside youthful freshness. I cannot pinpoint any other wines like these!
Their more introductory wines are also not to be missed, these wines showcase how special Riesling and Grüner Veltliner are from the Wachau and are excellent wines to sip on during the summer months; fresh, citrusy, and full of flavor. Across the board, the wines of Nikolaihof are a benchmark for so many others in their region and continue to push the envelope on how incredible wines from Austria can be.
-Hanna Krilov Cohen
In addition to offering these wines today, we are very excited to have Marlene Bergkirchner, Nikolaihof's Export Manager in stores with us on Monday 6/22 for a special in store tasting! 5 of these fantastic wines will be open for all to taste from 5-7pm and Marlene will be here to guide you through this special lineup.
Change the "View as" style below to read MORE INFO on the wines, and click on a wine for the full tasting note!
Please allow until Tuesday 6/23 for pick-up and delivery
Nikolaihof 2023 Wachau Gruner Veltliner Hefeabzug (Arrives 6/23)
From various vineyard sites near Mautern on Loess soils. The grapes are pressed and undergo a long, slow fermentation in stainless steel. It is the same wine as Zwickl, just filtered. Notes of citrus zest, pear, and apple, with a...
$33.99
Nikolaihof 2023 Wachau Gruner Veltlier Zwickl (Arrives 6/23)
From various vineyard sites near Mautern on Loess soils. The grapes are pressed and undergo a long, slow fermentation in stainless steel. It is the same wine as Hefeabzug just unfiltered. Zwickl refers to a local unfiltered beer and is...
$33.99
Nikolaihof 2023 Wachau Gruner Veltliner Aus den Garten Federspiel (Arrives 6/23)
From a blend of vineyard sites on clay, loess, and paragneiss soils. Fermented and aged in large, old Austrian casks. This wine has incredible brightness with herbaceousness and citrus. Snappy and fresh, this is a great intro into the special...
$39.99
$52.99
7 in stock
Nikolaihof 2013 Wachau Gruner Veltliner Aus den Garten Federspiel Late Release (Arrives 6/23)
From a blend of vineyard sites on clay, loess, and paragneiss soils. Fermented and aged in large, old Austrian casks. Aged for over a decade in large Austrian cask, this is a special late release showing how beautifully Gruner Veltliner...
$52.99
Nikolaihof 2019 Wachau Gruner Veltliner Im Weingebirge Smaragd (Arrives 6/23)
From the vineyard Im Weingebirge in the Wachau. The soils are Clay, loess, and paragneiss. This is the oldest documented vineyard, dating back to the 5th century. This is a rich, oppulent, textured Gruner with notes of yellow stone fruit,...
$78.99
Nikolaihof 2012 Wachau Gruner Veltliner Steinterrassen (Arrives 6/23)
From Various vineyard sites in Mautern on Loess soils. Picked at Federspiel quality and then spends 11 years in large woden cask before being bottled in May 2023. This wine is impressively youthful for one that spent so much time...
$99.99
Nikolaihof 2023 Wachau Riesling Aus den Garten Federspiel (Arrives 6/23)
Riesling from a blend of vineyards in the Wachau on gneiss, mica, and loess soils. Fermented and aged in large, old Austrian casks. This is a really pretty, elegant wine with beautiful ripe orchard fruit and yellow florals.
$42.99
Nikolaihof 2019 Kremstal Riesling Steiner Hund (Arrives 6/23)
From the vineyard Steiner Hund in Kremstal. The wine is aged for 2 1/2 years in large old Austrian casks. There is incredible oppulence here with lovely fruit quality. This will drink well now and continue to age for many...
$104.99
Nikolaihof 2015 Wachau Riesling Baumpresse (Arrives 6/23)
This wine always contains the best Riesling grapes that are then pressed using a historic single oak beam that takes about 10 hours to complete its press. The wine spends 5 1/2 years in a 2,000L Austrian oak cask. Bottled...
$134.99
Nikolaihof 2008 Wachau Riesling Vinothek (Arrives 6/23)
From the vineyard of Im Weingebirge this wine is aged for 15 years in 3,500L oak Austrian casks. Bottled in 2024 this wine is so incredibly balanced. It has aromas of honeysuckle, orange blossom along with some citrus zest. For...
$194.99
