"Vineyards are like children to me. And like children, I want to accompany them, support them and do my best for them. Only in this way can they develop their personality and show their full ageing potential"; this is how Silvia Heinrich sees her work. Viticulture is in her blood and this means not an eight-hour day for the passionate winemaker, but her life.
Almost 80 percent of the vineyards are planted with Blaufränkisch, a variety that represents the region, impresses with its independence and was named "Austria's noble red wine variety" by the renowned "Wine and Spirits Magazine".
Family Heinrich vinifies the typical Mittelburgenländer in seven stages of development and from different sites. The varieties range from elegant and mineral to intense and powerful. The heart of the total 38 hectares of vineyards is the Goldberg with eight hectares of Blaufränkisch, three of which have been in production since 1947, the wedding year of the grandparents. The unmistakably authentic and varietally typical Blaufränkisch wines from this top site regularly rank among the best in the country.
Silvia Heinrich's motto is "Less is more." Few selected grape varieties, close-to-nature cultivation, manual harvesting, spontaneous fermentation: these are the ingredients that produce uncompromising quality in the bottle - quality that is recognised, because with "terra o.", "elegy" or "Cupido", the winery has received national and international awards several times. The extraordinary quality of the wines is also proven by continuing success at home and abroad. In addition to the usual good Falstaff ratings, the "Wine and Spirits Magazine" declared the Mittelburgenland DAC 2009 the winner with 94 points in a tasting of more than 200 Austrian wines in April 2013.
In Wine Enthusiast, Blaufränkisch vom Weingebirge was the only Austrian Blaufränkisch to make it into the "100 Best Buys", and since the Chinese president discovered the "Goldberg Reserve" for himself during his visit to Austria, exports to the Middle Kingdom have flourished.
With the new photovoltaic system, in addition to a solar system and wood chip heating, the company is taking a further step in the direction of renewable energy and at the same time making a contribution to climate protection. In the vineyards, the Heinrich winery is taking a further step towards sustainable agriculture, having dispensed with insecticides and herbicides, substituted with pheromones.
The sensitive handling of nature's resources and the strengthening of the vine's own defenses are a top priority.
