Mischkultur

The name says it all. Mischkultur means "mixed culture", and it comes from the way this wine is grown: young vines planted right alongside hundred-year-old ones, all picked and fermented together. Joiseph are a young, natural-leaning producer in Burgenland, on Austria's eastern edge near the Hungarian border, and this field blend is their calling card.

It's a Gemischter Satz — the traditional Austrian practice of co-planting and co-fermenting several grapes — built here from Grüner Veltliner, Welschriesling, Neuburger, Traminer and Muskateller. Fermented with wild yeast, unfiltered, with just a touch of skin contact for texture. The result is fresh and immediate but never simple.

Pour it and you get a lively, aromatic nose: lime and mint, green tea leaf, apricot and a floral lift from the Traminer and Muskateller. The palate is bright and wild, full of citrus and stone fruit, with a whisper of tropical ripeness underneath. A light brush of tannin from that skin contact gives it just enough grip, and the acidity keeps everything singing. It's endlessly drinkable — the kind of bottle that empties faster than you meant it to.

How to Serve

Serve at 10–12°C in a normal white wine glass. It's built for drinking young and fresh; a few minutes of air brings the aromatics forward.

Where to Drink It

Fischer's in Marylebone, for Austrian cooking and a familiar accent. Planque in Haggerston, natural home of a wild field blend. Sager + Wilde in Bethnal Green, always happy with something like this.

Food Pairings

Lovely with a plate of charcuterie, a herby green salad, or lightly spiced Asian food — that aromatic lift and gentle grip handle a bit of chilli with ease.