Weninger Winery – Burgenland
With its Blaufränkisch wines, Weninger Winery belongs to the top tier of the Burgenland. Father Franz already caused a stir with his distinct red wines. His son, Franz, inherited this pioneering spirit and vinifies impressive natural wines grown on both sides of the Austro-Hungarian border.
Weninger Winery – Austria and Hungary
In Horitschon in Central Burgenland, the Weninger family, based at Florianigasse 11 since 1828, operated a typical mixed farm with arable land, cows, and 5 hectares of vineyards. In 1983, Franz Ludwig Weninger and his wife, Martina, took over the farm from his parents, Ludwig and Rosa, and focused entirely on viticulture. In 1992, together with Attila Gere, they founded a winery in southern Hungary, followed by another in nearby Sopron-Balf in 1997. Their son, Franz Weninger, the current owner, followed a classic path into the family business. He attended the viticulture school in Klosterneuburg, and after an internship abroad in California, he took over the winery in Sopron in 2000. By 2004, it had already been converted to organic viticulture, and in 2006, it received biodynamic certification. Father Franz soon warmed to his son’s unique style of winemaking and handed over the winery in Burgenland to him in 2011 as well.
Weninger Winery – Organic and Biodynamic
Protecting the soil is particularly close to the Weningers' hearts. Healthy soil produces unique wines that express their origin, whether they come from the loamy soils around Horitschon, on a plateau 230m above sea level in sites like Hochäcker, Kirchholz, and Dürrau, or from cool, calcareous soils like the Kalkofen site or stony, warm sites at the level of Lake Neusiedl, such as the Steiner site. Franz now lives in Horitschon again and manages both wineries together with his wife, Petra: 24 hectares in Austria and 25 hectares in Hungary. Blaufränkisch—or Kékfrankos, as it is called in Hungarian—is the dominant variety here, though Furmint, Pinot Blanc (Fehérburgundi), and Syrah are also cultivated at Weninger Winery. The winery is a member of Respekt and Demeter.
