Dissolved CO2 in Austrian Wines...

Next week, at SantaFe W&C Fiesta, Val Masten will be giving a Seminar on Austrian wines. Below are some questions I’ve sent to her on the subject of Dissolved CO2 in Austrian Wines:

Would, of course, be interested in the thoughts of all the esteemed folks here on this board as well on the subject.
Should I have included the [stirthepothal.gif] ??

Tom

Have you ever discussed this with German winemakers? It’s pretty common there, too.

I asked Dr. Carl von Schubert at Max. Grunhaus about it on a visit many years ago and he attributed it to the fact that they ferment in some kind of pressurized vessel (which I never understood). I asked Dr. Katharina Prum about the tendency of Prum wines to have more spritz than many Germans, and she said she wasn’t sure but thought it might be because they don’t move the wine around a lot, which tends to bring the CO2 out of solution.

Just a hunch, but I bet the temperature of the cellar might make a difference, with wines made in cooler cellars retaining more CO2.