»Very early on, the Jurtschitsch family believed in enormous improvements in white wine quality through temperature controlled, cool fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The first stainless steel tanks of the region were installed at the tradition-rich Sonnhof...«

vinification | terassed cellar |700-year-old natural cellar  

The fine art of winemaking
Knowledge of traditional methods is just as important as the skillful application of modern winemaking techniques.

"We would like to provide ideal vinification conditions for every lot of grapes from our vineyards. This requires space and high-precision equipment," explains winemaker Paul Jurtschitsch.


With the construction of our "terraced cellar" in 2000 we succeeded in creating the best possible conditions for vinification. The unique press house with its state-of-the-art equipment and clever layout offers a variety of gentle artisan methods and thus allows a highly individual adaption to variety, vintage and wine. As the grapes arrive at the press house, Paul determines – thanks to his special blend of knowledge and intuition – which vinification methods will be used.

The Jurtschitsch facilities also provide ideal storage conditions. The wines are given all the time they need to mature in our huge natural cellar: a labyrinth 14 meters below surface level and 1000 meters long offering ideal ageing conditions – a temperature of 11° C and almost 100 % humidity – all year round! Some wines are matured in stainless steel tanks, others in new or used Allier barriques, and later, of course, in bottles. Certain wines are assembled in large oak barrels – some of them 50 years old - before bottling.

More on winemaking: [white wines] [red wines]