Domain Wachau
The domain Wachau , formerly Freie Weingärtner Wachau (until 2008), is a well-known winery in Austria . It is located outside the city walls of Dürnstein in the Wachau.
history
The first known documentary mention took place as a winery of the lords of Dürnstein and Thal Wachau as early as 1137. The owners of the estate, including the Habsburgs for a short time , changed several times. Eventually it came into the possession of the Starhembergers . Around 1790 they bought the vineyards and the cellar castle from the estate of the Dürnstein monastery, which was secularized in 1788. Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg then sold his domain to the vineyard tenants in 1938. This also led to the establishment of the Wachau winegrowers' cooperative .
The quality-oriented cooperative based in Dürnstein counts experts among the leading wine-growing companies in Austria and among the world's best cooperatives. Since 1990 the winery has been operating under the name "Freie Weingärtner Wachau", and at the beginning of 2008 it was renamed "Domain Wachau". The company is independent, the aim of the company is to promote its members. This takes place through the annual fixing of the grape prices, which are paid out to the members. The grapes that are processed by the Wachau domain come exclusively from the Wachau and the vineyards of the cooperative members, no grapes or wine from outside the Wachau are purchased. Without exception, all wines are matured in their own cellars.
Companies
The Wachau domain is represented by a board that is elected by the members and is chaired by a chairman. In the area of responsibility of the chairman, Hans Martin, is the representation of the interests of the members, the management of the board and the moderation between the board and the management. The management lies with the commercial director of the winery, Roman Horvath MW . The supervisory board and the annual general assembly of all members act as controlling bodies of the cooperative.
The vineyards, around 2/3 of which are on steep terraces, are picked and selected by hand and delivered to one of the modern press houses spread over three communities. The vinification , storage, bottling and sales are located centrally in Dürnstein. The logo of the Wachau domain represents the front view of the Kellerschlössl.
In 2010, the Wachau domain, according to its own information, cultivated a total of around 420 hectares with around 250 winegrowing families - around 30% of the entire Wachau vineyard area. The winegrowers are bound to the cooperative for at least three years. In the course of a so-called rating system , the winegrowers are looked after by a viticulture advisor during the growing season to improve quality.
The turnover in 2009 is almost 11 million euros. This makes the Wachau domain one of the most important wine-growing companies in Austria.
The Wachau domain sells around 25% of its wines in the Austrian grocery trade, 20% of its turnover is generated in the catering and specialist trade, around 45% is exported, the rest of the turnover comes from farm-to-house sales and direct sales Private delivery.
Wines
Well-known vineyards managed by the cooperative from west to east: Bruck, Tausendimerberg, Singerriedel, Hochrain, Kollmitz, Achleiten, Kellerberg, Loibenberg .
The following three wine segments are offered in specialist shops and restaurants :
Domain Wachau Terraces and single vineyards: the top line since 2001. This has two sub-categories. Those with the designated vineyard names (Achleiten, Singerriedel, ...) form the top wines with limited quantities. The terrace wines are typical Wachau wines with a clear structure and pronounced minerality . There are vineyards cuvées in the categories Steinfeder , Federspiel and Smaragd . They come from Wachau terrace locations, of which individual expansion would not make sense due to the small areas, are vinified together after the strictest selection and labeled under the designation "terraces".
Domain Wachau Weißenkirchen: Under this name, vineyard cuvées from the vineyards around Weißenkirchen in the Wachau have been offered since the 1990s .
Domain Wachau Himmelstiege: The Himmelstiege, originally a well-known steep slope in Dürnstein and already a popular Wachau wine many years ago, is now being offered again by the Wachau domain as the classic Wachau Federspiel and emerald made from Grünes Veltliner and Riesling. These traditional wines offer structure and elegance.
Domain Wachau Burggarten: "Burggarten" stands for an exclusive selection of terraced vineyards from the eastern part of the Wachau. The unique combination of barren primary rock soils and the warm Pannonian climate influence in this part of the Wachau produces wines that are said to impress with their elegance.
Wachau Klassik: In retail fruity, young are quality wines of the Wachau offered classical music. Under this line - with traditional labels with oil paintings of the Wachau, painted by Wilhelm Schwengler - the Wachau domain markets wines for the food retail trade, ranging from Steinfeder to Federspiel to Smaragd. Depending on the category, Grüner Veltliner and Riesling and a rosé in the Steinfed area are offered. The Wachau Klassik is one of the successful brands on the Austrian wine market.
Sparkling wines: A single-variety Riesling sparkling wine has been available since spring 2008. Riesling grapes from the terrace areas of the Wachau are fermented using the traditional champagne method . In addition, the Wachau domain offers the Fresco Frizzante, a fruity, fresh, simple sparkling wine for the catering trade.
The grape variety index is composed as follows (as of 2010):
White grape varieties:
- Grüner Veltliner 53%
- Riesling 22%
- Müller-Thurgau 5%
- Neuburg 5%
- Pinot Blanc 3%
- Chardonnay 2%
- Muscat 1%
Red grape varieties:
- Blauer Zweigelt 8%
- Pinot Noir 1%
The annual production is between 2.5 and 3.2 million bottles, depending on the harvest. Wines dating back to 1947 are stored in the old wine archive of the Wachau domain.
Others
Dürnsteiner Katzensprung was the name for a small, extremely steep vineyard owned by the cooperative. This is no longer cultivated today. For many years, the winery produced a country wine under this name. The 1954 vintage became famous through Leopold Figl . During the negotiations on the State Treaty in Moscow, the Austrian negotiating delegation had already presented the guests as a gift. It also became the State Treaty wine that was served at the banquet after the contract was signed.
As a tribute to the treaty wine, a spontaneous fermentation wine with aging in large oak barrels was produced for the 50th anniversary . It should match the original as perfectly as possible. Of these, 30,000 bottles went on sale.
literature
- Vinaria Austrian magazine for wine culture, 6/2006, pp. 40–47.
- Christa Hanten, Tobias Hierl: Austria's Wine Salon 2006 , avBuch im Österreichischen Agrarverlag, 2006, ISBN 3-7040-2151-2 .
- Peter Moser: Falstaff. Wine Guide 2008/2009. Austria. South Tyrol . Falstaff , Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-39502147-8-9 .
- Domain Wachau: press kit. August 2010
Web links
- Official website
- Entry in the Wein-Plus wine guide
Individual evidence
- ↑ “Freie Weingärtner Wachau” are “Domain Wachau” ( memento of the original from November 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Coordinates: 48 ° 23 ′ 32.2 " N , 15 ° 31 ′ 38.5" E