Kollektiv Peternell was born in 2019 from the friendship and shared curiosity of Paul Schuster, Simon Ecker and Dave Ferris. Rooted in eastern Austria, the project brings together three different backgrounds in food, wine and hospitality, giving their wines a fresh, open and slightly unconventional energy. Rather than building a traditional estate, they work as a small collective: flexible, experimental and driven by the desire to make wines that feel alive and direct.

Their work is centred mainly around vineyards near Lake Neusiedl and in Mittelburgenland, two areas shaped by warmth, wind and a wide range of soils. The lake brings a moderating influence, while Burgenland’s mix of gravel, clay, limestone and heavier soils gives room for both light, juicy wines and deeper, more structured expressions. This diversity is part of what makes the project exciting: each wine can take a different direction, depending on the vineyard, grape and vintage.

The team works with organically farmed fruit and a low-intervention mindset. In the cellar, the approach is deliberately hands-off: spontaneous fermentations, no unnecessary additions, no polishing away of texture or character, and wines bottled unfiltered. The goal is not technical perfection, but energy, honesty and drinkability.

Kollektiv Peternell’s wines often move between categories: fresh reds that can be served chilled, textured whites, skin-contact bottlings, playful blends and unexpected combinations of local and international varieties. They are experimental, but never complicated for the sake of it. What matters most is that the wines remain vibrant, expressive and easy to connect with.

There is a certain freedom in the way the collective works. Because the project sits slightly outside the classic model of a family domaine, it allows space for intuition, collaboration and a sense of fun. The wines feel like conversations between friends, vineyards and vintages: sometimes wild, often joyful, always sincere.

Kollektiv Peternell represents a younger, more fluid side of Austrian wine. Their bottles capture the spirit of a new generation: curious, low-intervention, regionally rooted, but not afraid to play with form, flavour and expectation.