Armit Wines, the London-based Fine Wine merchant, has announced it is partnering with Austrian producer Weingut Bernhard Ott.
Armit will now have exclusive distribution rights to Ott’s still Grüner Veltliner wines in the UK, which have previously had limited availability.
Brett Fleming, MD of Armit, said: “Given the market challenges we were not looking to expand our portfolio, but frankly opportunities like this are rare… To say we are delighted is an understatement.”
The Ott family has been producing wine since 1889, with Bernhard taking over in 1993. Weingut Bernhard Ott joins family owned estates such as Tenuta San Guido, Bruno Giacosa, Château Lafleur and Tinto Pesquera in the Armit Wines portfolio.
Ott produces his wine on 50ha of biodynamic vineyards around Feuersbrunn, in Austria’s south-western Wagram region. Vineyards are scattered to the north of the village. The estate also has holdings in the historic Stein parcel, located across the Kamptal border.
A founding member of the sustainable producer collective respect-BIODYN, Ott is known for his Grüner Veltliners specialism, where he uses a biodynamic and a low-intervention approach.
Along with winemakers Johannes Hirsch and Fred Loimer, Ott uses whole-cluster maceration, 100% stem inclusion and spontaneous fermentation in traditional Stockinger fuders as part of the winemaking process. Regenerative methods are also employed, spanning dense cover cropping and a no-irrigation approach which helps to protect the soil.
According to Armit, these methods yield Grüner Veltliners of ‘remarkable depth, purity and longevity’. Meanwhile, growing UK demand for ‘precise, expressive white wines’ means that the collaboration comes at a ‘pivotal time for Austrian Wines’.
Bernhard Ott, owner and winemaker of Weingut Bernhard Ott, added: “This partnership marks an important step for us. Together with Armit Wines, we are confident that we will achieve our goal of being listed in some of the finest restaurants across Great Britain, while also making our wines more accessible to the many loyal OTT fans in the UK”.
