Authentic wines with a unique signature The Malat family in Austria looks back at almost 300 years of award-winning winemaking. Today in its tenth generation, the wine estate is successfully led by Michael Malat. During the last decade, the young vintner has managed to develop his own signature, yet remain close to tradition. He was recently awarded as Winemaker of the Year 2019: a great and well-deserved honour. TEXT: MARILENA STRACKE I PHOTOS: WEINGUT MALAT
The Malat wine estate was founded in 1722 and sits in the valley Kremstal of Lower Austria, close to Vienna. For centuries, the region has been known for its wine culture and features remarkable soil properties including loess, gravel and primary rock. The mild climate and the Danube flowing through, providing a cooling effect in sum24 | Issue 73 | April 2019
mer and a warming effect in winter, contribute to the region’s winemaking success. Vintner Michael Malat always knew he wanted to continue his heritage. Of course, the job brings a certain kind of pressure given that the wine estate has been so successful for centuries. Expectations for the leading vintner are accordingly high.
For example, his father Gerald was a true pioneer, who pressed Austria’s first vintner’s sparkling wine in 1976. Like father, like son: since he took over in 2008, Michael Malat has lived up to his family’s name. He has just been titled Wirtshausführer Winemaker of the Year 2019, and the wines produced under his