The Austrian viticultural expert Heribert Bayer comes from the town of Baden near Vienna. He was initially a wine collector and then began passing on his knowledge to Burgenland winegrowers as a consultant from the mid-1980s onwards. In the meantime, the innovative négociant éleveur (controlled grape or wine purchase and own processing) is considered an absolute red wine specialist. In 1994 he produced his first own wine "In Signo Leonis" from Pinot Noir in the municipality of Mörbisch (wine-growing region Leithaberg). From 1997 onwards, red wines were vinified in partnership with the Winzerkeller Neckenmarkt (wine-growing region Mittelburgenland). Due to the great success, Bayer built his own state-of-the-art winery in the municipality of Neckenmarkt in 2002 under the name "In Signo Leonis" after his star sign (In the Sign of the Lion). Since 2006, son Patrick has been responsible for the business, supported by his father. Since 2017, sustainable energy has been supplied by means of a photovoltaic system installed on the cellar roof.
The vineyards cover around 25 hectares of vines. The red wine varieties Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot, as well as the white wine varieties Chardonnay, Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Rotgipfler and Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc) are processed. All red wines with rigorously limited yields come from the Hochberg vineyard with very old vines. The base wines are vinified in the Winzerkeller Neckenmarkt, and the wines are aged in the Bayer winery.
The flagship of the house is the red wine "In Signo Leonis", made from Blaufränkisch (~60%), Zweigelt (~20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), which is matured for two years in 100% new barriques. Other premium red wines are "In Signo Tauri" (Taurus, zodiac sign wife, Pinot Noir, matures two years in 100% new French barriques) and "In Signo Sagittarii" (Sagittarius, zodiac sign son, Blaufränkisch). Other single vineyards are "Sails Red" (Blaufränkisch, matures for 18 months in barriques) and the stainless steel aged "Avantgarde" (Zweigelt). The EX-QUI-SIT line consists of Pinot Blanc (Pandkräften, Rust), as well as Zweigelt, Merlot and Blaufränkisch (Hochberg, Neckenmarkt). These wines, made from grapes of the highest quality, are partly aged in new or second-fill barriques for at least 15 months. The ZEITLOS line includes Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt. Bottle-fermented sparkling wines are also produced. Around 90,000 to 100,000 bottles of wine are produced annually The winery is a member of the Blaufränkischland Mittelburgenland winegrowers' association.
Pictures: karmapitch
