A joint project of the three Austrian winegrowers Franz Xaver Pichler (Unterloiben, Wachau), Tibor Szemes (Pinkafeld, Central Burgenland) and Manfred Tement (Zieregg, Southern Styria). In the search for an origin with a concise character and great quality potential, vineyards in central Burgenland were selected. The name was given after the place name "Arachon" (slaw. "der bei den Eichen"), which was common for Horitschon in the Middle Ages. The goal of creating a great Austrian red wine of international format was achieved soon after the first vintage in 1996. After the death of Tibor Szemes in 2001 ind Illa Szemes (2018), Oscar Szemes continues the agendas as the main person responsible for vinification, ageing and distribution.
At the beginning of 2018, the partnership between the Arachon families and "Vereinte Winzer Genossenschaft Horitschon", was terminated. A total of 25 winegrowers with about 27 hectares of vineyards from Rieden in Horitschon and Neckenmarkt deliver their grapes. They are contractually obliged to implement measures to improve the quality of their vineyards, such as short pruning, constant leaf work and repeated thinning out of the vines, which reduces the yield. The wines are now vinified in the new Arachon ripening cellar of the Szemes Winery in Pinkafeld.
The "Arachon T.FX.T." is made of Blaufränkisch (50%), Merlot (30%), Zweigelt (12%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (8%) cuvétiert and aged for two years in 100% new French barriques. Since the 2001 vintage, the second wine "A'Kira" (bgld. dialectal for "Aufschrei") is also produced as a pure Blaufränkisch wine. This matures (after a single use for other wines) in used French barriques. A total of 100,000 bottles of wine are produced annually, 40% of which are exported. A marc spirit "Gölles" is also produced.
