Peter Gönc: The Restless Winemaker of Štajerska

Peter Gönc never sat in a formal enology class. He grew up in his family’s cellar near Ptuj, in northeast Slovenia, left it for a while to explore and learn from other regions and winemakers, and came back to Štajerska and got to work. Peter is a winemaker that works from observation and feel. He does not follow a formula, and you can see that in the wines he chooses to make: easy-drinking, chillable reds, orange wines held on their skins for weeks, and a barrel-fermented Chardonnay he considers the best thing he has made so far. Four generations of winemakers stand behind him, but he has no interest in following their path. He is following his own preferences and ideas, but never forgetting all those who came before.

Gönc Winery Vineyard at sunset

Gönc Winery Vineyard at sunset

Peter Gönc’s roots in Štajerska, Slovenia

The Gönc story starts in 1936, when Peter’s great-grandfather built his first cellar and planted the vineyard around it in the small town of Dobrovnik. After the war, Peter’s grandfather moved to Ptuj and took a job at Ptujska Klet, the Ptuj wine cellar, sweeping floors as a cellar cleaner. He worked his way up to head winemaker and, eventually, CEO of the oldest winery in Slovenia, now known as Pullus. Peter’s father worked at Pullus too, and on the side he planted 24 acres of his own vines. That estate now runs to 28 acres.

When Peter came of age, the family built a new cellar in Ptuj and restarted Gönc, this time as its own winery. Peter stepped off that path to make small quantities under his own name, on his own terms rather than following in his family’s footsteps. His father and grandfather rose through Slovenia’s largest, most institutional producer, but Peter has chosen to walk his own path.

Peter Gönc in the Vineyard

Peter Gönc in the Vineyard

A Slovenian winemaker with no house style

Working without a formal playbook comes naturally to Peter. It is not in him to follow any sort of formula to make his wines. Instead, he goes where the wine takes him, and that instinct, paired with real curiosity, is why his range looks the way it does. While it is true that Peter has a distinct point of view when it comes to the wines he wants to make, there is no “house style” he works to preserve. Peter keeps moving, fresh and immediate one season, structured and serious the next, taking something from each vintage into the following one. It is a harder way to work, but for Peter it is the only way.

Grape Harvest at Gönc Winery

Grape Harvest at Gönc Winery

Skin-contact and orange wines from Gönc Winery

Many of his wines are named after the records he plays in the cellar while he works, such as David Bowie’s “Starman” and AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds.” These are his most expressive and unguarded wines, including skin-contact whites and a Pinot Grigio he leaves on its skins for six weeks until it turns amber.

Grape Abduction Company, the chillable side project

Then there is Grape Abduction Company, his side project and his most playful, sold on the idea that aliens crossed the galaxy, looked the planet over, and picked Štajerska to make wine. Same fruit, looser approach, bottled by the liter for drinking cold. 

Hand harvesting grapes at Gönc Winery

Hand harvesting grapes at Gönc Winery

The Ana wines: barrel-aged Slovenian whites

His Ana wines are the newest chapter, and maybe the most personal. Here Peter reaches for refinement and permanence. The line is named for all the Anas across the generations in his family. Aged in French oak and drawn from only his best barrels, made in tiny quantities and aimed at the top end. It is the clearest sign yet of where his attention is turning. Lately, he says, it is white wine that pulls him.

Organic farming, low-sulfur winemaking

No matter the project, all the farming is practicing organic, and the wines are bottled with little to no added sulfur. No added sulfur does not mean the wines are unstable; Peter’s wines hold up well once opened, so don’t hesitate to offer them by the glass.

Peter Gönc and JP Bourgeois in the wine cellar

Peter Gönc and JP Bourgeois in the wine cellar

A Slovenian producer in the JP Bourgeois portfolio

For JP Bourgeois, Peter is one of a small handful of core winemaker relationships, and one of only two in the portfolio outside France. The relationship has also produced something JP values more than a sale: through an introduction JP made, Peter and Burgundy’s Numa Cornut became friends, two young winemakers from deep wine families who each chose their own road, now trading ideas across borders. JP built the portfolio around exactly this, real growers and real stories, people he knows rather than names in a catalog.

Peter is still curious; he has a family legacy and could follow that path, but he is doing the more difficult thing instead: making wine his way. For Peter, that is the only path worth following.

Wines Featured in This Story

60s Kerner

100% Kerner

An aromatic white named for the freedom of the 1960s, made to drink cold and easy. Hand-picked in mid-September, fermented in stainless steel with malolactic blocked, then six months in stainless and three in bottle. Citrus, orchard fruit, and a light floral lift on the nose. Fresh and bright, round through the mid-palate, finishing clean on saline minerality.

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The Little One

80% Pinot Blanc, 20% Yellow Muscat 

Peter at his most unserious, a fresh and approachable white with plenty of aroma and bright acidity. Hand-picked in mid-September, fermented in stainless steel with malolactic blocked, then six months in stainless and two in bottle. Pale straw with golden reflections. Floral and lifted on the nose, white flowers and elderflower over ripe pear and a touch of peach. Crisp and lively on the palate, juicy citrus and stone fruit into a clean, saline finish.

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Cuvée Anna

50% Žametna Črnina, 30% Pinot Noir, 20% Blaufränkisch

Named for Peter’s grandmother, a bright, dry rosé from Žametna Črnina, one of the world’s oldest cultivated grape varieties and rare on the US market. Hand-picked and quick-pressed, fermented in stainless steel with malolactic blocked, then six months on fine lees. Wild strawberry, ripe peach, and stone fruit on the nose. Lively and fruit-forward on the palate with a cool mineral snap and a clean, refreshing finish.

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Dirty Deeds

100% Pinot Noir 

A quick, bright, easy Pinot Noir named for the AC/DC song, all lift and freshness. Hand-harvested in late September, fermented in open stainless steel with skin maceration, then six months in French oak. Dark crimson in the glass. Confit cherry, red berries, and dried strawberry over soft spice and forest floor. Lithe and lively on the palate, juicy red fruit and savory spice into a fresh, lifted finish over fine-grained tannins.

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Pour Some Sugar on Me

100% Gamay

A Gamay to drink cold from the fridge, light on its feet with red fruit and a lick of smoke. Hand-harvested in late September, fermented in open stainless steel with skin maceration, then six months in French oak. Bright ruby in the glass. Red cherry, raspberry, and cranberry over dark spice and a lightly smoky edge. Fresh and rounded on the palate, juicy red fruit and gentle spice on lively acidity, finishing long and savory on smoke and crushed stone.

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Sabotage

100% Blaufränkisch

 

Blaufränkisch from a gravelly section of the estate where low yields concentrate the fruit, dark and a little feral. Hand-harvested in late September, fermented in open stainless steel with skin maceration, then fifteen months in French oak. Deep ruby with violet reflections. Blueberry, blackberry, and sour cherry over black pepper and wild herbs. Intense and structured, with rugged tannins and a raw edge, finishing long on smoke and crushed stone.

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War Pigs

100% Yellow Muscat

An orange wine with real grip, Yellow Muscat left on its skins for six weeks. Hand-picked, fermented in open stainless steel, with 42 days of skin contact and the cap punched down by hand. Fifteen months in neutral oak on fine lees, bottled unfiltered. Golden amber and intensely perfumed: citrus, herbs, orange blossom, and ripe peach. Textured on the palate, apricot and sweet spice over a gentle tannic grip, long and savory into a finish of tea leaf and saline minerality.

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Harvest Moon

100% Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio picked under the full moon and left on its skins for six weeks, until it turns deep amber. Made without added sulfites. Forty-two days on the skins, then fifteen months on fine lees. Deep amber, perfumed with dried apricot, orange peel, ripe pear, and tea leaf. Textured and savory on the palate, stone fruit and preserved citrus over a gentle tannic grip, into a long, mineral finish.

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Starman

50% Chardonnay, 50% Riesling

A skin-contact white blend of Chardonnay and Riesling, fermented on native yeast and left on the skins for six weeks. Hand-picked before dawn and pressed by hand, then fifteen months in French oak on fine lees, bottled unfiltered. Golden amber, with dried citrus, apricot, yellow apple, and chamomile. Textured on the palate, ripe stone fruit and preserved lemon over a gentle tannic grip, with a savory, slightly oxidative depth into a long finish.

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Grape Abduction, White

85% Pinot Blanc, 15% Yellow Muscat

A light, low-alcohol white, crisp and floral, bottled by the liter for drinking cold. Fermented in stainless steel with malolactic blocked. Pale straw to light gold. White flowers, citrus, white peach, and lychee on the nose. Crisp and lively on the palate, juicy white fruit and a tropical Muscat lift, finishing fresh on white peach and citrus peel.

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Grape Abduction, Rosé 

70% Žametna Črnina, 20% Blaufränkisch, 10% Pinot Noir

A light, low-alcohol rosé, quick-pressed to a pale pink and bottled by the liter for drinking cold. Fermented in stainless steel with malolactic blocked. Wild strawberry, raspberry, red cherry, and a hint of violet on the nose. Round and fruity on the palate, strawberry and watermelon over a soft mid-palate, with refreshing acidity keeping it clean and lively.

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Grape Abduction, Orange

40% Pinot Blanc, 20% Pinot Grigio, 40% Riesling

A light, low-alcohol skin-contact white, bottled by the liter for drinking cold. Fourteen days on the skins, fermented and aged in stainless steel. Deep golden to light amber. Orange peel, dried apricot, peach skin, and tea leaf on the nose. Textured and lively on the palate, preserved citrus and stone fruit over a gentle tannic grip, finishing on dried herbs and mineral salinity.

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Grape Abduction, Red

50% Blaufränkisch, 50% Pinot Noir 

A light, low-alcohol red for drinking slightly chilled, bottled by the liter. Fourteen days on the skins, fermented and aged in stainless steel. Bright ruby. Blackberry, cranberry, and red cherry over soft dark spice. Juicy and smooth on the palate, a fresh red-and-black fruit core with gentle spice and an easygoing texture. The finish is fruity and refreshing.

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ANA Blanc

65% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Blanc

Peter’s more refined register, named for the many Anas across his family. The Chardonnay ferments and ages in 500-liter French oak with malolactic; the Pinot Blanc stays in stainless steel with malolactic blocked. Bright and composed, with a gentle texture and crisp acidity. The barrel-fermented Chardonnay brings roundness and breadth, the stainless Pinot Blanc keeps it fresh, and the finish is clean and dry.

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ANA Chardonnay

100% Chardonnay

The wine that launched the ANA line, fermented and aged in French oak and drawn from only the best barrels. Peter calls it the finest he has made so far. Ten months in barrel, then twelve in bottle before release. Layered and balanced, with a buttery texture from barrel fermentation and malolactic, gentle acidity, and a subtle frame of oak. The finish is long and refined.

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