Nestarec's Eleven: Chasing the Essential

Details that cost us more time, energy, and a good half of our expenses — even if most people never see them. But you'll feel them in the glass. These are the decisions that, added up, result in a wine that we as a team can 100% stand behind.

01 Bílovice and Žižkov: Genius Loci Between North and South

Two villages we call home. Our vineyards sit on the fault line of two climatic influences: the Pannonian from the southeast with hot summers and full phenolic ripeness and the Central European from the northwest, bringing lower temperatures and rainfall that preserve acidity and vintage character. A tension between north and south that allows for a whole range of styles, from light whites to full reds, with both bones and flesh. But energy is the constant; it runs through every wine and makes us who we are. Bílovice with hillier, lighter soils is home to our whites; Žižkov and its heavier, flatter terrain belong to the reds. Two villages that, after 25 years, are proving to be the ideal tandem.

02 Listening to the Vineyards’ Voice

The only thing that truly tests the quality of a vineyard is time; even after 25 years in, we accept that we’re only at the beginning. Armed with the experience of our elders and our own, we seek out and tend old plantings that have something to say, and the result is a unique collection of sites that forms the backbone of White Labels, our "top shelf" single-vineyard wines. At the same time, we're not afraid to uproot a vineyard and start over if it isn't living up to its potential. The uniqueness of a site doesn't happen on its own; you have to seek it out.

03 Frankovka a Veltlín: Two grapes to rule them all

Two varieties that thrive here because they belong here: rooted in the past, flagbearers for the future. The backbone of our wines, whether they stand alone or anchor a blend. Less is definitely more.

04 Vines: Density is Quality

The more competition between plants, the better the fruit. 10,000 – 15,000 vines per hectare in our new plantings, and older vineyards are progressively densified. Overloaded vines make dull wine, as every plant has a finite amount of energy and potential. We prefer to express it fully in three clusters, not dilute it across ten.

05 Selection Massale: Strength in Diversity

We want our vineyards to be as genetically diverse as possible, so we plant new sites using our own selection massale, taken from the best-performing vines and traditional clones in our older plantings. No industrial clones, only material with a proven history, propagated specifically for us. It can take over a decade to see the fruit of this slow work, but the wait is worth it: more resilient, more diverse vineyards, and, above all, wines where the whole vineyard gets to speak, instead of a single clone.

06 Pruning: Respect thy Vine

In Simonit & Sirch we trust. Both our Guyot- and cordon-trained vines are pruned according to their method, which respects the vine's natural architecture and the flow of sap. Every cut is a decision: a bad one shortens the vine's life by years, a good one extends it by decades. Smaller wounds = healthier wood = vines that will still be making great wine in thirty, fifty, seventy years. That’s our horizon.

07 Canopy Management: No Shortcuts

No cutting the apex. Meticulous leaf and shoot thinning work to balance shade for the grapes with airflow through the canopy. It's a painstaking, fiddly job – but a certain amount of hands-on work is simply non-negotiable if you want a balanced vineyard and balanced fruit. Shortcuts and mechanisation always come at a price, both in the vineyard and in the glass.

08 Modern Farming: Adaptation >> Dogma

The mindset we bring to our vineyards. A synthesis of the best from all low-intervention approaches, one that respects history and tradition while looking ahead. Adaptation over dogma, tailored to the individual needs of each vine, site, region, season, and vintage. What works in one vineyard in February may not work in the next plot over come May.

09 Harvest: The Moment of Truth

The culmination of a year's work, both symbolically and literally. The moment when all these thousands of gestures, decisions, and details described above finally pay off. We don't believe in "al dente wines" from phenolically underripe fruit; only optimal balance and picking each cluster at exactly the right moment guarantees a top result. Hence the low yields (15–35 hl/ha). Hence picking the same vineyard multiple times if needed. Hence double selection by the picker in the vineyard and at the sorting table in the winery. Healthy fruit only; even though I'll happily drink Botrytis in an Alsatian sweet wine, it has no place in our cellar.

10 The Cellar: Preserving the Energy

Every bottle of Nestarec must carry something unique, something that transmits emotion and energy to whoever opens it. Every wine starts with nature-given potential and nuance; our job is to preserve them all the way to the bottle. Which is why we work with intention and simplicity, with as few interventions as possible. Whole-cluster pressing or gentle classical maceration, ageing in large neutral vessels. No enological additives, naturally.

Our goal is to bottle wine that is alive, healthy, and stable, wine that gives you more than it takes.

To top it all off, after years of testing, our closure of choice is Ardeaseal Organic. mMade from renewable materials, it ensures consistent oxygen ingress, eliminates cork taint, and most of all gives our wines the archival potential they deserve.

11 Wine Is a Medium

Most of the friendships in our lives go back to wine, somehow — and that is, actually, the real reason why we do what we do. Wine is a remarkable catalyst for building a network of inspiring people around you: people who share the same values, while enriching each other through the difference in their paths and perspectives. Our wine thrives on diversity and collaboration, literally and metaphorically in a mycorrhiza, and so do we. Inspire and be inspired, respect and be respected.