The white grape variety was discovered in 2000 in St. Georgen, a district of Eisenstadt in Burgenland (Austria), and named after the place where it was found. In 2023, it was officially given the main name Mater Veltlinis (now synonymous with St. Georgen). Stories have long been told here about a supposedly ancient vine on a vineyard that was cultivated centuries ago. Michael Leberl from the "Dorfblick" association and winegrower Hans Moser followed up the traces. At the end of May 2000, Leberl found a rose hip bush on the long overgrown Viehtrift vineyard, which was used as a vineyard in the Middle Ages and then served as a pasture. It was a vine that was several centuries old, of which only this one specimen is known to date. It was severely weakened by a lack of light and only had small leaves the size of a thumbnail.
![]()
In the past, you needed a wealth of encyclopaedias and specialist literature to keep up to date in your vinophile professional life. Today, Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one of my best helpers and can rightly be called the "bible of wine knowledge".
Prof. Dr. Walter Kutscher
Lehrgangsleiter Sommelierausbildung WIFI-Wien