Kasnyik Orange Rizling Slovakia 2019

Press 2 • October 2023 Direct Press Selection

Brothers Tamás and Gábor Kasnyik, along with Gabor's wife Virág, are some of the strongest voices in Slovakia's natural wine movement. They are located in southwest Slovakia, near the Hungarian border. They are immensely proud of their home, the historic Strekov region that is sculpted out by the Danube River and was first mentioned in 1075 for it's excellent wines. Along with four other producers (the others are Strekov 1075, Slobodné, Vinárstvo, Magula, and Mátyás) they founded 'Autentista Slovakia' which lays out strict rules for natural farming and winemaking, including a path to undo many of the harmful practices of the communist era. Part of their charter reads, "We Authentists hereby subscribe to the legacy of our ancestors, who lived on these lands and farmed them for thousands of years, growing grapes and making wine to delight the spirit and celebrate God's goodness. As their descendants, we want to use our native land to produce wines of consistent quality, so we can preserve this land and pass it on to our children healthy and beautiful."

Thier Orange Rizling is Olaszrizling, aka Welchsriesling, which is confusingly unrelated to Riesling, but is one of the most common grapes in the Pannonian region. It spends two weeks on its skins and a year on the lees in old barrels. Less than 20ppm of sulfur added and they note that the histamine level is 4.40 mg/L as well, which is a stat I've never seen before on a wine bottle. Lemon peel, mandarin orange flesh, fresh cut hay, and a spicy mustard green edge. This wine is intense but has so much energy. It's a vivid and invigorating wine that is a testament to the Kasnyik's eye for detail and their stated passion for making wines that can please and unite. Jonathan Kemp