The Martin Hugl Estate

This is a young family-run winery located in the north-east of Austria, in Ketzelsdorf-Poysdorf. The owners Sylvia and Martin Hugl aim to produce fruity, full-bodied wines that are typical of the region and the soils. They make use of the experience of their parents and combine it with their know-how and modern techniques to create high-quality wines. To keep quality high they limit quantity by cutting back, thinning, and green harvesting. A careful handling of the grapes during harvesting is as necessary, along with a cool fermentation in the cellar.

Total production in 2009 was 340,000 liters: 76% white, 24% red (actually no rose and sparkling wine, production - rose is planned for vintage 2010)

For the European market they use only varietal names and offer two types of wines made from Grüner Veltliner: Weinviertel DAC – a regional brand with specially controlled quality and rules for selling it, and Grüner Veltliner classic as a second type of Grüner.

Names of their Grüner Veltliner single vineyards, and quantities produced:

Zapfersberg: 5,000 liters

Rösselberg: 15,000 liters

Waldberg: 25,000 liters

Unführ: 3,000 liters

Luss: 3,000 liters

Baumfeld: 3,000 liters

Junge Geringen: 10,000 liters

Alte Geringen: 15,000 liters

The Martin Hugl Vineyard

In addition to using the best cellar technologies, they emphasize the work in the vineyards and the soils. Prime south- and south-west-facing hillsides and the loam soil ideally suited for wine growing are the basic conditions for high quality. They own and cultivate 22 hectares of vineyards and cooperate additionally with several partners who are cultivating grapes according to their quality targets. They buy grapes from 25 hectares of vineyards.

Grüner Veltliner is the most widely planted grape variety in Austria, accounting for 37% of the country's total vineyard area, about 50,875 acres. Most of these vines are in the large wine region known as Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), along the Danube River, north of Vienna. It also grows in a few other Eastern European countries, such as Slovakia, Yugoslavia and the Czech Republic, but the variety is most closely associated with Austria, where it has been cultivated since Roman times. Grüner Veltliner is the indigenous variety of Austria.