Fermentation relies exclusively on wild yeasts, aging happens primarily in seasoned French oak barrels, and their wines receive none (brown label, pet-nats) or minimal (unmacerated whites) sulfur at bottling. Jakub's fascination with skin-contact techniques prompted him to acquire four Georgian qvevri in 2016, now buried in their garden and serving as fermentation and maturation vessels for orange wines like Amfora.

"This gentle cellar approach only works with thoughtful vineyard management, preserving sufficient wild yeasts and nutrients both within and around the fruit," explains Jakub, whose philosophy drove the estate's complete organic conversion in 2016. They've since embraced increasingly biodynamic practices and even helped establish the Czech-Slovak Demeter chapter.

The Future is Bright & Bubbly

Respectful winemaking is a given, but otherwise this dynamic trio isn’t staying put – their flagship orange wines are seeing shorter maceration times, adapted to the vintages. "We’re definitely looking for more elegance, as our taste and the market evolves. And due to the warming climate, maintaining freshness and finesse in heavily macerated wines is more of a challenge than ever before."

Herzanovi’s most recent venture is sekt production, driven by both indulgence and evolution: “We simply like bubbles,” laughs Jakub when asked, and Sandra elaborates: “Making good secondary bottle fermented bubbles is a whole another level of winemaking, and, after playing with pet-nats for a while, we definitely wanted to take on this challenge.”