Austria

Kolfok means “unconventional thinker,” and that’s exactly what Stefan D. Wellanschitz is. He took a 19th-century winery in Neckenmarkt, Austria, and turned it upside down: grapes are now farmed organically with biodynamic practices, and in the cellar, Stefan steps back, letting the wines find their own way. His goal? To showcase the Mittelburgenland terroir from schist and gneiss to limestone up high, ferrous loam and volcanic clay down low. He calls himself an “observer,” giving the wines all the freedom they need.

Stefan loves the texture of skin-fermented, “orange” wines, but he wanted elegance, not just tannic punch. His solution: intracellular fermentation. Whole, uncrushed grapes sit in a big vessel while native yeasts slowly begin fermentation inside each berry, extracting gently from the skins. Weeks later, the juice finishes in massive 1100–1500L oak barrels. The result? A pale, structured white wine that’s tropical, floral, and elegant - a new favorite from Burgenland that proves you can break the rules without losing finesse.