All-purpose weapon with enjoyment factor
Lukas Schmidt's first own wine was called Meistergreif. Not exactly an understatement for a 22-year-old at the time. In the meantime, the young winemaker from Bullenheim in Franconia has already produced his master sip No. 3 bottled and begins an ambitious new start.
Why is it always simple when it can be complicated? Since Franconia is considered the home of the Silvaner, it was obvious for Lukas to create one as his master project. Nothing was easier than that, after all, the newcomer was able to use grapes from vines that were over 50 years old in the best family vineyard. That alone would have provided power and structure. But what does Luke do now? He allows the wine to ferment spontaneously in barrique barrels, which is completely untypical for Franconia.
"At first the family was understandably very surprised,"
he looks back, amused. But now a bottle of Meisterschluch is opened at every major family celebration.
The young winemaker was inspired to create what was then an outlier in the company's range through his internships in two foreign companies, each of which is one of the top producers in their region: Dreisiebner Stammhaus in Styria, an established family business of a similar size, and the Tramin winery, one of Italy's top producers with over 200 hectares of vineyards. The decisive factors were the climatic conditions and the variety of grapes, which have a lot in common with Franconia. “Both regions are, in my view, the top white wine regions in the world, closely followed by Franconia,” notes Lukas. Well, not everyone has to completely share this opinion when it comes to Styria and Franconia. But he still has big plans for Franconian wines and visions are just part of the life of an ambitious and talented young winemaker.
This also includes the next step. Since the new year, the previous name Weingut Frank & Lukas Schmidt officially no longer exists. The company is now called Meier Schmidt Weinerlebnis, thanks to the merger with the Markus Meier winery in Ulsenheim. Its previous owner converted his parents' part-time winery into a sophisticated 20 hectare winery with top locations. The merger makes sense, not only because both families have been working together for over 20 years. “We will now work with a dual management team and simply make great wines,” promises Lukas. The hot master gulp will still be available in the future, as an addition to the range of future joint wines from Riesling, Scheurebe and Silvaner or the Sneak Preview, the first wine from Markus Meier and Lukas Schmidt. The grape variety, taste or location are deliberately omitted. "Sneak is our uncomplicated all-purpose weapon, it's just about enjoying the wine, without any prejudice," notes Lukas. Virtually blind tasting with your eyes open. There will be a lot more exciting things to come from the new house in the future.
