Franz Hirtzberger

For the last decades, no other name has impacted as profoundly on vinicultural activities in Spitz as Franz Hirtzberger’s. Franz the elder laid the foundations by identifying the best single-vineyard terraces, and by founding the Vinea Wachau together with some other big names of the region. Franz the second, who has presided over the family’s 20 hectares of terraces since 1983, introduced a rigorous pursuit of high quality wines, which propelled the Hirtzberger vineyard into the very heart of the Wachau’s wine culture. Since 1988, he has also been trying to communicate his beliefs to other winemakers in the region. Right at the centre of his philosophy resides the natural approach to wine cultivation and the careful understanding of the geological and climatic specificities of his terraces. These ideas have become widely accepted. 

The names of Franz Hirtzberger’s terraces – the Singerriedel, Honivogl, Rotes Tor, Hochrain, Axpoint, Pluris and the Steinborz – are synonyms for the greatest wines of the region. Franz the third is also fully active in the family’s vineyard, and responsible for everything that comes to pass in the wine cellar. The interventions in the cellar are minimal, but they contribute substantially to the unique characteristic notes of the Hirtzbergers’ famous wines.