History – Loimer

Attention and uproar

Even as a young graduate of the Höhere Bundeslehranstalt für Wein- und Obstbau Klosterneuburg, Fred Loimer attracted attention during his search for new paths. And indeed, he sparked somewhat of an uproar back then, in the early 1990s, in Langenlois and the surrounding area! There, the daring Junior from a traditional Langenlois wine-growing family had filled Austria’s showcase grape variety, Grüner Veltliner, into barriques and was delighted with the robust wood tone. He also applied a similar touch to Chardonnay, which was still quite exotic in Austria back then. And when he took over the winery from his father in 1998, he stuck labels on his bottles – labels that had nothing to do with the winemaking romance that was in demand at the time.

Pioneer of wine architecture

There was great excitement and a lot of talk also in 2000, when Fred Loimer had a minimalist black cube built on a 150-year-old, hand-dug loess cellar in Langenlois – thus adding new spice to the charming local Kellergassen, or cellar streets. A real pioneer of the much heralded wine architecture movement, which grew to include the world-famous Loisium that opened in Langenlois only three years later.

Closer to nature

With these developments, it seems only logical that Fred Loimer came to natural wine. Not only because, as a young father, he saw the concept of sustainability in a new light, but also because he ultimately came to the conviction that closer-to-nature viticulture protects soils and resources as well as increases quality.

Conversion to biodynamic agriculture

The Loimer winery began the conversion to biodynamic agriculture in 2006. This was still unexplored territory for many – but surely full of promise! The future of wine, no more and no less – Fred Loimer was convinced. And not only him. Also the many other winemaking colleagues with whom he founded respect-BIODYN in 2007; a community that consistently implements and lives biodynamics in viticulture.

Achtung! Wines with a “warning“

Spontaneously fermented with natural yeast; weeks, sometimes months on the skins;patiently matured, without intervention or additives. When Loimer wines appeared in 2006 – they were quite different. And this proved irritating to many. For decades, wines often had been smoothed over through excessive technology and robbed of their individuality. But to Fred Loimer, amused by the reactions, irony wasn’t lost on him. He gave his natural wines the label “mit Achtung!“ – which means, “with respect!“. So – no one could say that he hadn’t been warned…

From the Kamptal to the Thermenregion

Someone like Fred Loimer, who‘s always on the lookout for opportunities to seize, naturally keeps his eyes open for more action. So it’s no surprise that the vineyards of his Langenlois wine estate grew year after year. And when the opportunity arose in 2004 to lease the tradition-steeped Weingut Schellmann winery in Gumpoldskirchen, in Austria’s Thermenregion, Loimer was sure to seize it. Since then, the grapes for Loimer wines come not only from the Kamptal, but also from vineyards around Gumpoldskirchen, an area known as Austria’s Burgundy.