currently 179,265 Wines and 25,411 Producers, including 3,387 classified producers.
0.75 L
0.75 L
0.75 L
0.75 L
0.75 L
0.75 L
The winery is located in the municipality of Welgersdorf in the Burgenland wine-growing region of Eisenberg (Austria). Uwe Schiefer worked in the catering industry as a waiter and sommelier in renowned Viennese restaurants, including the Steirereck. After attending the Austrian Wine Academy at Rust, he founded his own winery in 1990. His motto is "Without exception, the wine defines itself in the vineyard". In line with the company philosophy "less is more", virtually no technology is used in the vineyard or during vinification in order to emphasise the character of the terroir and the grape variety.
The vineyards cover 20 hectares of vineyards in the Fasching, Hummergraben, Kroatische Ried, Reihburg, Saybritz, Szápary and Zudelgraben vineyards on the Eisenberg, on the Tschaterberg (south-western foothills of the Eisenberg), Königsberg and Hannersberg (Hannersdorf) as well as in the municipality of Markt Neuhodis. There are further vineyards in the wine-growing areas of Mittelburgenland (4.5 hectares in Lutzmannsburg) and Leithaberg. Some of these steep slopes, some of which are very old, have been painstakingly recultivated. The main variety is Blaufränkisch with a 92% share. The rest is planted with Merlot and Pinot Noir, as well as the white wine varieties Welschriesling, Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc and Riesling. The vineyards are cultivated in an environmentally friendly, organic manner. Particular attention is paid to the optimal timing of pruning, thinning out and harvesting.

No enzymes, cultured yeasts or other aids are used. Filtration and fining are not used. The wines are fermented spontaneously with the vineyard's own yeasts and mature slowly on the lees in wooden barrels of various sizes according to the winery's internal motto "pure slate" - a dogmatic purism. The flagship of the estate is the "Blaufränkisch Reihburg", which can be aged for 20 years or more, selected from vines up to 80 years old and matured in large wooden barrels. Other premium wines include "Blaufränkisch Szapary", "Blaufränkisch Königsberg alte Weingärten" and "Blaufränkisch vom blauen Schiefer" from the Eisenberg region or "Blaufränkisch Lutzmannsburg v.v." and "Blaufränkisch Leithaberg hoad" from Mittelburgenland and Lake Neusiedl. Various frizzante, bottle-fermented sparkling wines, brandies, grape juice, apple juice, paprika powder and pumpkin seed oil are also produced.
The wine portfolio is to be streamlined in future; the new top wine will be the "Eisenberg", an assemblage of the best plots, best sites and oldest grapes. The two top winemakers Bartolo Mascarello (Barolo, Italy) and Jean Louis Chave (Hermitage, France) are cited as role models. The partnership with the Munich entrepreneur Hans Kilger and the newly founded Schiefer & Domaines Kilger GmbH & Co KG is also intended to facilitate and support this path towards even more uncompromising quality.
Picture: © markus rössle