Franz Hirtzberger

The Franz Hirtzberger winery is located in the municipality of Spitz on the Danube in the Lower Austrian wine-growing region of Wachau. The family has been growing grapes on a farm dating back to the 13th century for five generations. Franz Hirtzberger is one of the doyens of the Austrian wine scene. He is also known as "Mister Singerriedel" after the famous vineyard. Today, Franz Hirtzberger Jr. is the fifth generation of the family to be responsible for the traditional winery. In 2000, the completely new and modern cellar was put into operation. The vineyards cover 30 hectares in the Axpoint, Donaugarten, Hochrain, Kollmitz, Rotes Tor, Schlossgarten, Setzberg, Singerriedel and Steinporz vineyards. They are 100% cultivated with the white wine varieties Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Chardonnay, Neuburger, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Gelber Muskateller.

The strict quality criteria in the vineyard are short pruning, intensive foliage work, strict yield control and rigorous selection during the harvest. Only physiologically ripe and healthy grapes are processed with selective manual harvesting in several passes. The musts are fermented without any sugaring or other improvement in stainless steel tanks until they come to a natural standstill. Further ageing takes place partly in traditional large wooden barrels. The primary goal of the winery is to create wines of high quality in typical varietal purity. The premium wines include Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Axpoint, Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Honivogl and Riesling Smaragd Setzberg. Noble brandies are also produced. Around 200,000 bottles of wine are produced annually. The winery is a member of the Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus association, whose long-standing chairman was Franz Hirtzberger Sr.