Haindl-Erlacher

The winery is located in the municipality of Wolkersdorf about 15 kilometres north of the Austrian capital Wien in the wine-growing region of Weinviertel in Lower Austria. The traditional winery has been family-owned since 1690. It has been run by Romana and Walter Erlacher since 2004. Romana, a graduate of the wine school Klosterneuburg and Austrian Wine Queen 1996/1997, began working in the winegrowing business after studying at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences and years of apprenticeship abroad (including at Nelsons Creek in South Africa). Walter Erlacher is a trained food biotechnologist and ambitious career changer. The vineyards cover 16 hectares in the Wolkersdorf vineyards Kühbühel, Ochsleiten, Stixenkreuter and Roseneck. 75% of the vineyards are planted with the white wine varieties Grüner Veltliner (with about 50% of the vineyard area), Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Welschriesling, Riesling, Neuburger and Pinot Gris, and 25% with the red wine varieties Zweigelt, Blauburger and Merlot. The quality criteria are close-to-nature cultivation in the vineyards, strict yield limitation and careful manual harvesting. The main focus is on the Weinviertel lead variety Grüner Veltliner with, for example, Weinviertel DAC. The Burgundy wines mature for at least half a year in large wooden barrels and are marketed under "Premium". Around 45% of the wines are sold farm-gate, 15% are exported.