Monika & Karl Neustifter
Austria
Father and daughter winemaking team discovered by your trusty Archangels
- This father, daughter winemaking duo were selected for success by a group of Archangels during an Austrian tasting
- With generations of winemaking experience behind them, this small family winery focuses on getting the best from their vines
- Having previously won the title 'Best Grüner Veltliner in Austria' they are keen to win some new Angel fans with their wine
Vineyard Location
Monika & Karl Neustifter's Story
Monika & Karl Neustifter's Story
"Our family has made wine for generations. My father is the 3rd generation and I am the 4th generation now. We started as a farm with fields, vineyards, vegetables and fruits. For the last ten years we are focusing on wine only. My father attended the only wine growing school with A-level - federal institute of viticulture and pomology in Klosterneuburg. Afterwards he took over the family business from this father. I studied International wine management and international wine marketing at the university and now I work in our winery as well.
Poysdorf is a very big wine town, here wine is everywhere. We can’t imagine our live without wine. So being a winemaker was always our wish. At the moment my father is still our chief winemaker, but I try to learn from him to be such a good winemaker as well.
Work is different every day. As a small family winery everyone is involved in everything. Vines are like children, you need to care about them and train them to get a healthy vineyard. It’s like playing soccer. You need a good team to get goals, so you have to support every team member individually. That’s why being outside in the vineyard is the best thing about it.
The soil and vineyard sites as well as the love we give to our vines make our wines special. In Poysdorf we own the oldest vineyard site mentioned in a document in Austria: Hermannschachern since 1338. We produce just wines we like to drink ourselves. The wines are typical for our region, fruity and harmonious, ready to drink when we sell them, and you will recognise the grape variety it’s made of.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for our family. In 1999 we started to build our new winery on the outskirts of Poysdorf in the middle of the vineyards. In 2001 we opened the winery and started working there. Before we always had to divide the work to different places, which wasn’t easy for us. For our red wine production we built a traditional old-style cellar covered with bricks, which is 100 m long. We used about 80.000 bricks. Some of the bricks had a poor quality. After complaining the brick company put through that we weren’t longer allowed to use or even go into our cellar. It was a long and hard fight for us to get the right to use our cellar again.
We have had lots to celebrate along the way though, in 2011 our Grüner Veltliner got awarded as the best Grüner Veltliner in Austria and our Chardonnay got awarded as the best in Austria as well. This awards were the greatest achievements for our wines so far.
My father’s vision was to produce a wine that demonstrates the potential of the Weinviertel region, is characterized by its longevity and attracts international acclaim. This Grüner Veltliner planted and produced like our grandfather did is 100 % handmade. On his 50th birthday we were able to present the first vintage of this special wine. And this year we were able to work with a horse in this vineyard, just like my Grandfather had, which was fantastic."
