Ep. 18. / Niki Saahs from Nikolaihof shares 2000-year-old secrets from Wachau

The Nikolaihof is one of the benchmark estates worldwide if you are looking for great, age-worthy white wines with character. This is the oldest estate in Austria, lying on the right bank of the River Danube in Mautern, in the beautiful Wachau. The estate is led by the Saahs family for more than 120 years now and working biodynamically since the 70s already. They still use a more than 350 years old wooden press every year and age their wines in the cellar that ones the Romans carved. Today’s guest is Nikolaus Saahs, the leader of the estate, who passionately shares why biodynamic viticulture is the best approach that a farmer could take, especially in the long run. We also tasted three Nikolaihof wines together, while Niki shared some deep thoughts on how a wine ought to be enjoyed: “A great wine should be a kind of energy drink for you. … They are for drinking and not just for tastings. Now you are understanding my wines. You have to feel them, open them, and eat something with them.” This is a particularly edifying conversation, so I suggest you to take a stunning Nikolaihof wine ghost and immerse yourself in today’s episode. And then take a look at my videos on the Wine Ghosts Youtube channel, where I taste these lovely wines together with some loose cooking to enhance the enjoyment. I hope you enjoy today’s episode. Tasted Wines: 1. Grüner Veltliner „Zwickl” 2019 2. Grüner Veltliner Federspiel „Im Weingebirge” 2013 3. Riesling Smaragd „Vom Stein” 2015   Wine Ghosts Instagram: @wineghosts Wine Ghosts' Channels: linktr.ee/wineghosts Wine Ghosts' E-Mail: [email protected]