Our Account Managers, Daniel Fishman and Monika Kent, recently travelled to Austria to visit one of our Austrian producers, Weingut Esterházy, and celebrate their 20th anniversary. We’re delighted to share more about their trip, along with some spectacular photos taken by Dan, who enjoys photography almost as much as he enjoys selling wine.

"At the start of September, Monika and I had the fantastic opportunity to head to Austria to visit one of our partner producers, Weingut Esterházy, as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of their winery at Trausdorf.

After spending a soggy evening in Vienna on the hunt for authentic Schnitzel, we headed south towards Eisenstadt, in the heart of the Leithaberg DAC, to meet up with Export Manager Nina West, Winery Director Wolfgang Hewarth and the rest of the international group of attendees. Nina and Wolfgang had arranged a private tour of the incredible Schloss Esterházy, followed by a get-together at Wine Bar Selektion Vinothek opposite the Palace.

Many of Weingut Esterházy’s partner importers from around the world had flown in to attend, so we spent the evening getting to know representatives from Canada, the USA and Scandinavia, amongst many others, sharing market insights and stories along with a glass or two! We were treated to excellent local light bites and bottles from the region, including some blind tasting of wines from other local producers, and a glimpse into the ‘Project’ wines Wolfgang had been working on, more of which we would be introduced to the next day.

Esterházy Winery is one of the most historic wine estates in the Pannonian region. For more than 300 years, Esterházy has been synonymous with art and culture, while also playing a leading role in viticulture and in the agricultural and forestry sectors of Burgenland. Historical records show, for example, that the court musician Joseph Haydn, who served at Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt from 1761 to 1803, received part of his remuneration in the form of wine.

Innovation has always been a cornerstone of Esterházy’s viticultural heritage. As early as 1758, the Princes Esterházy began producing single-varietal wines and introduced Pinot Noir to what is today Burgenland as early as the 18th century. Today, at Leithaberg, Esterházy Winery cultivates 65 hectares of organically certified vineyards.

Day two started at the winery with a Masterclass on Esterházy and the Leithaberg DAC, hosted by Wolfgang alongside Willi Klinger, one of the key figures in the international development of Austrian wine, and Raimonds Tomsons, one of the world’s top sommeliers. The three different perspectives provided by people with such deep knowledge, understanding and enthusiasm for the wines and the region really brought to life what was in our glasses.

They took us through six flights that demonstrated the breadth of styles that can be produced in Leithaberg, starting with a sparkling flight featuring traditional-method wines made from 100% Blaufränkisch. Whilst many producers default to using ‘Champagne’ varieties for their sparkling wines, the Sekt Brut NV showed the complexity and quality that can be achieved by utilising a more traditional local variety to produce sparkling wines. The team here believe deeply that Blaufränkisch is the star and are determined to give their signature variety the opportunity to shine in all its guises.

As well as the signature Austrian white variety, Grüner Veltliner, we tasted through single-village expressions of Pinot Blanc and Furmint. Sankt Margarethen Furmint 2025 was particularly interesting, as there are only 35 ha of Furmint planted in Austria, with 22 ha of that in Leithaberg. It was super fresh and mineral, with electric acidity.

Following this were two vertical tastings of single-vineyard Chardonnay and Blaufränkisch, which fantastically illustrated the careful evolution in style that Wolfgang is achieving, with a lighter touch of oak allowing the signature of the terroir to take centre stage. We finished with a 1989 Blaufränkisch Barrique Schloss Cuvée that had been peacefully ageing in the cellars of the Palace ever since, demonstrating that Blaufränkisch can have the structure required to age gracefully.

Cellar Manager Jakob Holzmann then gave us a tour of his domain, and we discussed the project to move to using oak from the nearby Leitha Mountains to age their wines, as well as the differences this unique wood, with its tight, fine-grained structure from very old, slow-growing trees, brings.

We were then picked up in a gorgeous 1960s coach and whisked off to Zum Gogosh restaurant at Esterházy Estate’s Organic Farm, where another special palace cellar discovery, a 1994 Blauburgunder, was served with lunch before we headed to meet Vineyard Manager Ticiana Nagy in the prestigious Oberer Wald Vineyard.

The Oberer Wald vineyard is one of the most sought-after vineyards in Rust and is located on the wine-growing border with Oggau. It stretches from 140 to 189 metres above sea level. The Esterházy vineyard is located in the centre, faces south-east and has a slope of 12% in the upper part. Unusually, the best soil composition in this vineyard is found at the bottom. The topsoil of brown forest soil is only 40 cm thick; from 60 cm, the soil consists of pure shell limestone, some of which has already decomposed to chalk.

In the vineyard, overlooking Lake Neusiedl, we had the pleasure of tasting some more ‘Project’ wines, including a superb Chenin Blanc grafted onto old Blaufränkisch roots, before heading back to the winery for street food stalls and a game of Boule.

The party went on well into the night, with around 500 people attending – a well-deserved celebration for all the team at Esterházy, who had put on a fantastic experience for all of us lucky enough to be invited along."

by Daniel Fishman, Account Manager

To view our wines from Esterházy, click here.