Dorli Muhr glowi g i the September su , captured o a harvest day — Mo day, September 22. Photo: Gergő Pejkó | Makeup: Nóra Belovai It’s harvest. It’s 2025. A d we’re at Dorli Muhr Wi ery o Spitzerberg i Car u tum—just a short drive from Rohrau, the birthplace of Joseph Hayd , whose family o ce ow ed vi eyards here. Dorli is ot o ly o e of Austria’s most origi al wi emakers but also the force behi d a leadi g wi e marketi g age cy that has shaped how Austria wi e is see arou d the world. The air smells of ripe Blaufrä kisch, the team is movi g faster tha the forecast, a d Dorli—equal parts strategist, philosopher, a d wi emaker—like s her grapes to a prima balleri a mid-pirouette. Maybe this is her purest vi tage yet: lifted, precise, a d u mistakably Austria . Dorli Muhr a d Lia Kiss i co versatio o the terrace, overlooki g the Spitzerberg vi eyards. Photo: Gergő Pejkó | Makeup: Nóra Belovai Do you remember your first harvest? Ca you compare it to this year’s? My first harvest was i 2002. It was just o e vi eyard, a d we thought: “Okay, the grapes are ice, let’s pick them.” It was do e i maybe a hour. I 2025, it’s very differe t—we are ow o day seve of harvesti g a d o ly about 40& dash;45% is do e. The scale has cha ged e ormously. A other differe ce: i 2002, I had o cellar. I borrowed a frie d’s to make the wi es. A d, of course, I had o experie ce back the . Today, we k ow exactly which vi eyards give the best quality, which plots we eed to pick earlier, which we should wait o . But o e thi g has ’t cha ged: you ca pla all you wa t, but the weather decides if you ca follow the pla . Right ow, we’re raci g because rai is forecast for Wed esday. Harvest is always like this—you ever k ow, a d you have to be prepared for everythi g. Whole clusters straight from the vi eyard—stems, ski s, a d all. Next stop? Foot-treadi g. Yes, actual stompi g. O ly about half of the grapes are ha dled this way, keepi g just the right dose of wild e ergy i Dorli’s wi es. Photo: Gergő Pejkó A d the climate? Has it cha ged a lot si ce the ? Treme dously. Whe I was a kid, we would ever harvest before October 25th. That was whe grapes bega to ripe . This year we started September 13th. Last year we were already fi ished by September 12th! So yes, the climate has cha ged everythi g, a d we’ve had to adapt completely. Is there a sou d, a sce t, or a image that defi es this harvest for you? What defi es 2025 for me are the cool ights. They slowed dow ripe i g, preserved fresh ess, a d kept acidity. That creates what I call te sio i the wi e. I like to compare it to a prima balleri a doi g pirouettes—light o her feet, vertical, full of stre gth without heavi ess. Or like a Gothic cathedral risi g upward. This vi tage will be vertical, with great fresh ess, but also the body of a warm summer. The footwork’s already begu , the juice is movi g, a d the Blaufrä kisch is starti g to show its raw e ergy. Photo: Gergő Pejkó A d what about Blaufrä kisch—how do you treat it today compared to before? We’ve lear ed it eeds time. Years ago, we bottled after two years a d released it. Now, we age it two years i cask, the o e more year i bottle before release. Ideally, Blaufrä kisch should be released te years after harvest. I ca ’t afford that yet—but maybe o e day. For those u familiar, how do you pro ou ce your regio —Car u tum? A d what makes it u ique? You pro ou ce it kar-NOON-toom. The ame is Lati because the Roma s built a huge camp a d later a city here—it had 70,000 i habita ts i the 1st ce tury. Geographically, Car u tum sits betwee the Alps a d the Carpathia s, i a 20 km flat corridor where wi ds blow 320 days a year. Those wi ds keep vi eyards dry a d reduce rai fall. Our soils are sa dy limesto e, so co ditio s are dry a d su y. The result? Wi es that are aromatic a d ripe, but ot heavy. Elega t, with fresh ess a d te sio . Mostly red wi es, especially Blaufrä kisch. Dorli Muhr a d Lia Kiss i side the tasti g room at Dorli Muhr Wi ery. Photo: Gergő Pejkó A d you were bor here, right? Yes, just 10 km away, i Rohrau—the same village where composer Joseph Hayd was bor . Rece tly I discovered that the Hayd family actually ow ed vi eyards here o Spitzerberg, maybe eve o the same plots I farm ow. Imagi e if I’m worki g the same soils they o ce did! Do you remember the mome t whe you decided to build your wi ery a d put this regio o the map? There was o si gle mome t. At first, I just wa ted a few bottles for myself a d frie ds. But the I realized Spitzerberg is a outsta di g terroir, capable of world-class wi es. It was ’t pla ed—it just happe ed. If the mou tai calls you, you have to a swer. Every harvest teaches somethi g ew. What did you lear this year? That sugar a d acidity are o lo ger the mai guides—they’re always there. What matters most is ta i ripe ess. A d you ca ’t measure that—you taste it. Sometimes we pick a vi eyard i two passes: the upper slope earlier, the lower part later. It’s co sta t tasti g a d adjusti g. You harvest by ha d. How do you ma age the team? I’m very lucky. My vi eyard team has worked with me for up to te years; they all come from Hu gary, from Moso magyaróvár. They bri g frie ds for harvest. We pick very carefully, removi g a y imperfect berries i the vi eyard itself. So by the time grapes reach the cellar, they’re already perfect—better tha a y sorti g machi e. We o ce tested a sorti g table because a compa y wa ted us to try it, but I said o. If you sort i the cellar, you e courage speed i the vi eyard. People rush, k owi g machi es will sort later. But whe you pick by ha d, every grape is ma icured i the vi eyard itself. The result? Far more precise selectio , a d you ca eve feel the emotio of the people i the wi e. That’s worth more tha a y machi e. By the time we reached the vi eyards, the team had already moved o from Spitzerberg—these Blaufrä kisch grapes were picked ear Prelle kirche . Photo: Gergő Pejkó What’s the most importa t thi g for protecti g quality? Details. Picki g at the right mome t, with the right people, a d the very soft vi ificatio —foot-stompi g, ge tle pu ch-dow s. No ew oak, o ly old casks. The goal is for the wi e to express its vi eyard, ot my wi emaki g. Would you say wi e is your life? Absolutely. First, because people i wi e are special—passio ate, fasci ati g. A d seco d, because of terroir. After all the processes—ferme tatio , barrel, agi g—you ca still taste the soil i the wi e. That’s magic. That’s why I make si gle-plot wi es. Do you have a go-to dish to pair with your wi es? I love to show how Blaufrä kisch pairs with fish, like sea bass baked i salt, sometimes with bitter vegetables like radicchio. It surprises people. A little salt bala ces acidity, a little olive oil softe s ta i s. Pairi g is about bala ce, ot matchi g aromas. Ha d-harvesti g at Dorli Muhr Wi ery. Dorli’s boots parked outside—she did the whole i terview barefoot. Photos: Gergő Pejkó You’re also serious about orga ics. What does that mea for you ow? Orga ic is just the begi i g. The real goal is resilie ce—vi es that live 70 years or more. We pru e softly, keep yields low, a d work biologically. Right ow, we’re testi g “pilot chicke s” i the vi eyard—to eat i sects a d fertilize soils. I the cellar, our thick walls keep temperature stable without e ergy—like a church, always the same i side, summer or wi ter. A d i the tasti g room, we wa ted a lot of atural light but o bur i g su i summer. So we built gree walls that shade the buildi g, cooli g it dow aturally. I wi ter, whe the leaves fall a d the su sits lower, the light a d warmth come i side. It’s what I call smart architecture—usi g ature i stead of fighti g it. For me, bei g orga ic is part of a holistic approach: vi es, architecture, e ergy, people, a d ature all worki g together. That’s wo derful. Tha k you so much, Dorli. Tha k you! A d please, come back—maybe ext time for a co cert here at the wi ery.