# Stein am Rain Grüner Veltliner Federspiel (2025)

- **Producer:** Weingut Josef Jamek
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Grüner Veltliner
- **Region:** Niederösterreich, Austria
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 12.5%
- **Average price:** €19
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 8–11 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** apple, pear, apricot, peach, lemon, grapefruit, white pepper, blossom

## About this wine

Weingut Josef Jamek is one of Austria's most historic and prestigious estates, located in Joching within the picturesque Wachau valley. Founder Josef Jamek, often revered as the 'Doyen of Wachau viticulture,' played a monumental role in the 1950s and 1960s by pioneering dry, single-varietal, non-chaptalized white wines. This style challenged the sweet-wine trends of the era and helped shape the strict Vinea Wachau quality codex. Today, the estate is managed by the fourth generation of the family, Dr. Herwig and Dr. Julia Jamek, alongside winemaker Volker Mader. The 'Stein am Rain' site features unique transition soils where steep, stony primary rock gneiss meets loamy, clay-rich valley floor soils near the Danube, yielding a remarkably playful and juicy expression of Grüner Veltliner.

## Interesting facts

- Founder Josef Jamek is widely revered as the 'Doyen of Wachau viticulture' for pioneering dry, non-chaptalized Austrian white wines.
- The grapes are grown on steep terraces supported by hand-maintained stone walls that are over 500 years old.
- The 'Stein am Rain' vineyard features a unique transition soil of loess-loam over primary rock gneiss, giving a juicier fruit profile.

## Food pairing

The crisp acidity and medium-bodied structure of this Grüner Veltliner make it an exceptionally versatile food companion. Its signature white pepper spice and vibrant citrus notes cut beautifully through fried or baked dishes like traditional Austrian Backhendlsalat, while its mineral salinity complements fresh seafood and delicate freshwater fish. The wine's herbal undertones also pair seamlessly with challenging green vegetables like asparagus.

## Wine making process

The grapes for this Federspiel are strictly hand-harvested from sustainably certified steep terraced vineyards. In the cellar, the fruit undergoes a brief period of skin contact to extract phenolic structure and complexity. Fermentation takes place slowly under strict temperature-controlled conditions in stainless steel tanks. To preserve the precise fruit purity, mineral focus, and varietal typicity of Grüner Veltliner, the wine is aged entirely in stainless steel with no oak contact. It is matured on its fine lees for approximately five months before bottling, adding subtle texture and depth to the final wine.