A Chat with 2Naturkinder
Germany, Franconia, Kitzingen
Micheal Voelker and Melanie Drese spent many years working in other fields, traveling the world and living in Heidelberg, Regensburg, London, and New York. In 2013 they returned to Bavarian Germany to begin taking over Michael’s father’s winery in Kitzingen. They began to make natural wines under the 2Naturkinder label as a side project for the winery, and in 2019 have fully expanded the project to take over the winery’s production.
Our chat with Melanie (May 2020):
How has the pandemic affected you so far? Which challenges have you been facing? What became easier?
It has affected us in different ways: First and foremost sales have dropped by 70 % I would say. We mostly export our wines to different countries and 70 % of our importers cannot sell any wines to restaurants at the moment. A lot of our distributers try to find a creative new way to sell the wines but it is not easy, especially when you only work with restaurants. It is obviously easier for those who have private clients or who are able to sell online.
It is interesting to see that in the last two months we sold more wine to German distributers. Not as much as to other countries but Germans seem to drink wine at home 😊 Also more private clients reach out and try to buy wines directly from us. This means more money per bottle but also more logistic work.
Which brings me to the next big challenge: we usually work with volunteers during harvest and vegetation season. Now with Covid-19 they all stuck in their countries and we have to do the same work with less people. Apart from the fact that there is less work force it also feels a bit lonely without all the volunteers. It is so much fun to meet people from all over the world, learn new things from them (baking bread or building a rooftop garden) and get inspired.
What are you currently working on?
We just planted a new vineyard with an old Franconian Pinot called Fränkischer Burgunder (an old autochthonous grape variety) and a vineyard with white hybrids. We think this is the way to deal with climate change. In the last years we have noticed that it is getting more and more difficult to work with some grape varieties who are very sensitive and don’t deal well with extreme heat or dryness or too much rain. In order to increase biodiversity and break up the monoculture we planted 30 apple trees right into the vineyard. Hoping the trees will also provide some shade. We are planning to build a biotope with lots of dead wood and different vegetables/herbs for all kind of animals.
What are your predictions for the rest of the year?
To be honest – no idea where Covid-19 will take us. It was a tough start for us flying solo without Michael’s father’s business. But we are optimistic that we can do it because we trust in our wines. We maybe we have to change the way we sell our wines. But we are pretty good in adapting. When we started making wine it was by far more difficult than it is now.
Now in Stock:
RED
Fledermaus Rot 2018 - Pinot Meunier
The cuvee that is dedicated to the bats that produce the guano used to fertilise the vineyards. Made with a grape not often produced in still wines. Whole bunch carbonic maceration, aged in steel and barrel on full lees until bottling. Fruity, mineral and a tad bit funky.
WHITE
Fledermaus Weiss 2018 - Muller Thurgau, Silvaner, Riesling
The blockbuster vintage is now taken up a notch! Still with the same major blending partners this is a more zingy and way more serious wine, finally under cork. Robust with great acidity and crunchy fruit from the Riesling. A portion of profits goes back into bat conservation in the area.