The winery is located in the municipality of Kammern in the Lower Austrian wine-growing region of Kamptal. The winery is based in a former toehold of the Passau monastery dating back to the early 16th century, which has served as the winegrowing base of the winemaking family since 1878. Today, after practical experience in Australia, California, Germany, New Zealand and South Africa, the winery is run by Johannes Hirsch and his wife Sandra. The vineyards cover 30 hectares in the Gaisberg and Heiligenstein vineyards (Zöbing), as well as Grub, Lamm and Renner (Kammern). They are planted with the white wine varieties Grüner Veltliner (65%) and Riesling (35%). Certified biodynamic viticulture is practised according to the rules of the respekt-BIODYN association. The vineyards are cultivated with high vine density, careful foliage management and low vine training in order to guarantee grapes with high physiological ripeness. Compost has been used exclusively as natural fertiliser since 1978. In 2013, we switched to gentle pruning according to Simonit & Sirch.
After the manual grape harvest in small crates, gentle processing takes place through whole bunch pressing, spontaneous fermentation, long contact on the fine lees and later bottling. The wines are vinified according to the philosophy of the house "The soil makes the wine". The product range includes ten wines, which are vinified in stainless steel tanks or in large wooden barrels, depending on their origin or location. These are various single-varietal Kamptal DAC or Kamptal DAC Reserve Grüner Veltliner and Riesling with the above-mentioned vineyard names. Since the 2002 vintage, the fruity, fresh and light Veltliner "Hirsch Trinkvergnügen" has been available with an annually changing label with a deer motif.
As early as 2003, the winery was the first in Austria to switch its entire production to alternative closures. Due to frequent problems with corks, the bottling line was equipped with a Stelvin screw cap. Around 180,000 bottles of wine are produced annually. Exports are made to Germany, Switzerland, England, Scandinavia, Japan, Oceania and the USA. The winery is a member of the Association of Traditional Wine Estates in Austria.
