Josef Fischer, Grüner Veltliner "Ried Mugler" Smaragd, Austria 2021

Though they show notable concentration, Fischer’s wines do not lead with power; rather, they are built around a tight helix of rapier-like acidity and intensely saline minerality, emphasizing kinetic thrust over sheer richness.

The Fischer family has produced wine on the Danube's southern banks for centuries, from holdings in and around their home village of Rossatz, in the eastern stretches of the Wachau. The winery itself traces its roots to 1898, and today fifth-generation Josef Fischer works 11 hectares of Gruner Veltliner and Riesling from several of Rossatz's top sites.

Only a small percentage of Wachau winegrowers work organically, due to the immense amount of manual labor required to farm on the region's terraces; Joe, however, works completely without synthetic chemicals in his beautifully tended vineyards, and the winery is certified organic.