Our winery is situated in the center of Weißenkirchen, Austria. It is part of the Wachau, a region well known for its winemaking. We are a family business and cultivate about 7.5ha, which are split in many small vineyards around the village. Our main grape is Grüner Veltliner (70%), followed by Riesling (15 %). We also produce Chardonnay (5%) and Muskateller (2%). Even though due to climate and tradition our main focus is white wine, we also cultivate Zweigelt (8% of our yearly production), from which we produce the traditional red wine as well as a rosé with a fresh, fruity aroma. As one of the founding members of "Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus" - we support the traditional Grüner Veltliner "subgroups" Steinfeder®, Federspiel® and Smaragd®. All our wines are made according to the high quality criteria of the Vinea Wachau. Since all our vineyards are terraced and some very steep, we harvest the wine traditionally per hand. Our family has been in winemaking for five generations. Since 1917 we produce in our present wine estate. It was originally built in the middle ages.The cellar, which is built into the rocks beneath the estate, is one of the oldest and largest in the Wachau. It the perfect place to let our wines mature. During the summer we have opened our "Heurigen" - a special wine restaurant. It is usually opened in June and in August for about 3 weeks. It is the perfect time to do taste our new wines and experience the special hospitality of the Wachau. The rest of the summer our main focus is the work in the vineyards. In the last decades we have particularly emphasized environment and plant protection: we know that only a healthy and well supplied soil has the ability to produce great wine. We are also well aware of our responsibility to our environment and the next generations who can only keep on producing wine if we do not exhaust our resources. During the harvest we make sure that only the best quality of grapes are collected. Afterwards we use the oldest and most gentle way of grape transport - free falling. In the cellar only stainless steel tanks are used, so the wines remain very straight and clear, fruity, fresh with a touch of mineralic character of the soil. To live up to our high quality expectations we use a cooled fermentation and control each tank up to five times per day. Frequent tasting is the basis of controling vinefication. All our wines get the time they need for their perfect ripeness and aroma. All together we make wines which are outstanding.
Weingut Gästezimmer Franz Zottl - Weitenbergweg 105 - 3610 Weißenkirchen in der Wachau - Austria