Willi Opitz: “Life is too short to drink bad wines!”

20th December 2007, Kežmarok/ Slovakia

Willy Opitz Winery - “Life is too short to drink bad wines!”

This is the motto of probably one of the most innovative Austrian winemaker. He started 11 years ago as a weekend winemaker, and nowadays his wines can be found on the best places in the world and thanks to KARLOFF Comp. Ltd they can be found in Slovakia, too. 

Vineyard history
Willi Opitz started with the cultivation of vines in the 1980s, as a weekend wine maker and because he enjoyed it, in small family vineyard stretching on 1.5 ha in Illmitz, near the "Neusiedler Lake". At that time there were only two planted varieties, "Muskat Ottonel and Zweigelt. In 1995 he left a career of a mechanical engineer at a nearby food company in order to devote himself to his hobby-wine. Today, he owns about 15 ha of vineyards and rents the other three. Nevertheless, his manufacturing methods have not changed – the manual collection of five times the best selection of grapes, grapes are gently stacked in small pots from Willi’s grandmother. Healthy berries are intended for dry white and red wines and grapes contested botrytis noble mold are the basis for selection of sweet wines. In some years he leaves healthy grapes to freeze on the trunk, then leaves them to mature on the reed mats and finally produces ice wine.

Innovation
Cane wine - vinorell "If the first one - never miss" - this is the definition of Willi Opitz’s innovation journey. Willi is famous for inventing cane wine “Schilfmandl ", which is similar to straw wine. It is a process in which the healthy grapes are left to age for 3 months on the cane mats, then they are gently compressed into small pots and that is known "Schilfwein”. The most popular Willi Opitz’ wine cellars are Trockenbeerenauslese “Opitz One" and
“Mr. President”, in which Willi works with 100% botrytis molds on the varieties of red berries. Equally interesting are the ice wines, dominated by "Eiswein Muskat Ottonel”.  Willi Opitz is also original with his labels for his wines. Themes of the labels are water-coloured with wine; therefore they are called "vinorell" and show all the emotions of labeled wine.

Ability to sell out - courage
There is no secret that there are a lot of good wines in the world but according to Willi, the role of the winemaker is to be able to sell his wine well. In the mid 1990s, he packed his best wines into his briefcase and off he was to the most prestigious wine exhibition in London. It turned out that quality still sounds good. Of the twelve Austrian wines at the wine menu of the Harrod's house, which boasts the world's best wines, ten of them are from the Willi Opitz' cellars. On the occasion of Bill Clinton's re-election to the presidency, Willi sent him few boxes of "Mr. President”.  Of course, when Bill Clinton has visited Austria he has met with Willi Opitz and worldwide publicity was guaranteed. His wines are served in first class of British Airways as it is also the official and exclusive partner and supplier of "Formula wines" such as "Pole Position" and "Silver Lake", McLaren Mercedes F1 team.

Art of dining
Is it ritual or necessary show?  If you visit Willi and his wife Mary in their lodging house in Illmitz -12 entree menu awaits you - the best combination of olives, prosciutto, cheese, anything and everything from an apple ice cream to the sweet chocolate cream at the end.  Each combination of food and wine highlights flavor of tasted wine to the perfect harmony of flavor and smell in the mouth at the very end.  Willi Opitz has a balanced selection of wines for such a show.