Against the Stream

Hans Igler and his wife Maria began in the early 1960`s. The first wines were bottled in 1968. A few years later Igler recognized the significance of quality and began to restrict yields and let the wine complete its fermentation naturally while ignoring the then widely practiced acidity reduction that left even the best wines shapeless.

The vintner from Deutschkreutz studied the practice of malolactic fermentation and began to mature his wines in small oak barrels. He soon gained recognition as one of the yet few red wine specialists in Austria at that time. Austria’s leading wine magazine, Falstaff, holds an annual red wine competition, which Hans Igler won consecutively from 1981 to 1983. In later years this was repeated several times.

The addition of Cabernet Sauvignon contributed significantly to the winery’s success. The variety married wonderfully with the 70% Blaufränkisch in the ”Vulcano” blend to which in recent years Zweigelt has also been added. Cabernet was also bottled as a varietal, preserving its slightly herbaceous, bell pepper aroma and typical character. The classic Blaufränkisch is a solidly dependable and honest wine.

After years of assisting Hans Igler, daughter Waltraud (graduate of viticulture and enology) and her husband Wolfgang Reisner now manage the estate.

Passage from "The Wines of Austria", Rudolf Knoll, 1998