Over the Christmas holidays, a few days of calm descended on our distillery. Every year, we give our team and ourselves this creative breathing space to rest and recharge. In the Kellerhaus, where our finest distillates await our guests and Mostello barrels quietly mature to perfection at a constant temperature, everything seems to stand still during this time. Seemingly! For our Mostello, this period of rest is incredibly, incredibly important — because it is within this "apparent" stillness that a wonderful Bio apéritif takes shape.
Mostello is an innovative pear dessert wine composition and an invention of our own. We refine our own pear juice and pear brandy from our region using the port wine method. While fortified wines around the world mature in warehouses in very warm to hot climates, our Mostello spends at least a year in stacked barrique barrels, exposed to the cool, fragrant air of the Alpine foothills. Only then is it stored in our Kellerhaus at a constant 19.4 degrees Celsius until it reaches perfection.
Alpine Ageing
Our Mostello matures outdoors for at least one year. From icy cold temperatures below -10 degrees in winter to +35 degrees on hot summer days, it soaks up the wonderful pre-Alpine air of the Mostviertel. The fresh air of the Mostviertel and the constant changes in temperature, air pressure and humidity shape the Mostello every single day. The temperature fluctuations between day and night and across the different seasons help to break down acidity more effectively, and the flavour of the pear dessert wine grows rounder and smoother with each passing day. The greater these temperature swings, the better the acidity integrates — and the rounder and more mellow the Mostello ultimately presents itself on the palate.
Mostello Fass Nr. 40
After our experience in Öhling showed that the sometimes extreme weather conditions have a particularly positive effect on the Mostello's maturation, we dared to embark on a new experiment together with Hermann Haller. We sent barrel No. 40 high up into the mountains!
Hermann Haller, a long-standing fan of our Bio apéritif, one day had the idea and suggested placing a Mostello barrel at an altitude of over 1,900 metres, right next to the Gipfelrestaurant Gipfelstuba on the Walmendingerhorn im Kleinwalsertal. Up there, barrel No. 40 has been maturing since May 2016, exposed to even more extreme conditions than back home in Öhling. More intense high-altitude sun, more extreme cold, icier winds — and of course far more snow. Up in the mountains, our Mostello experiences every single shift in the weather. And it loves every moment of it!
Last September, Josef drew the first sample in the company of a small group — and our expectations were surpassed. Maturing on the summit of the Walmendingerhorn is having a very positive effect, making the Mostello even rounder, creamier and silkier than at home in Öhling. To the producer's delight, evaporation also drops from 7% in Öhling to around 3.5% up on the mountain. Barrel No. 40 continues to rest up there on the mountain, where nearly three metres of snow currently lie. Until our next visit to the Kleinwalsertal, the Mostello will grow a little more mature with every passing day. And with every passing day, our curiosity grows — we can't wait to see how barrel No. 40 presents itself on our next visit to the mountains.
