Weingut Hirsch is a Biodynamic estate in Kammern, a town in the Kamptal region of Austria.

Owner: Johannes Hirsch. He describes himself a stag (‘hirsch’) by name and a stag by nature, known for being ‘undaunted by obstacles, clearing them with a leap’. He says he gets this attitude from his father, Josef Hirsch. ‘We place great value on travelling an independent path,’ he says. His wine style is botrytis-red grapes, clean fruit, renowned for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling.

Background: The estate’s roots in Kammern date to the 16th century when their house was built. The Hirsch family assumed ownership of this farmstead in 1878. As was the then custom, it began with mixed farming, in which wine played a role alongside many other field crops. This remained the case until the end of the 1970s, when Johannes Hirsch’s father recognised that specialised viticulture had a bright future in the Kamptal. Today Johannes Hirsch (5th-generation) manages the estate with his father Josef, his mother Christine and his wife Sandra (plus their children, daughter Marie and the twins Florian & Josef). 

Josef Hirsch, the father of Johannes, originally took over 2.5 hectares of vineyard from his own father. ‘He was soon acquiring more vineyard land. But he went about it in a revolutionary way,’ says Johannes. ‘He bought parcels that nobody else wanted to own, up on the Heiligenstein, and not down below on flat land one can work easily and efficiently.‘ The neighbours thought he‘d made an error. 

White wine only: 1999 was the final red wine harvest here. Johannes Hirsch had just turned fourteen years of age when his father made this far-reaching decision – and he shaped his own scheme of life in accordance with it. In 1996 the two of them reached the conclusion to put more emphasis on the true strengths of the enterprise. At the height of the red wine boom in 1999, they cleared out all the red wine varieties, planting Riesling and Grüner Veltliner instead.

“My experience convinced me that Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are the varieties best suited to the Kamptal. And in the meantime, introduction of the DAC regional branding has confirmed this same position as the official philosophy of the region,’ says Johannes Hirsch. ‘Hirsch Estate wines rarely have more than 12.5% alcohol; this lightness of character is a special concern of ours [the is no malolactic fermentation]. Since 1999 we have given undivided attention to the two grape varieties Riesling and Grüner Veltliner. We are convinced that these vines are ideally suited to the terroir of the Kamptal, and will yield truly great wines here.’ The village wines see only stainless steel oak. Erste Lage wines age in steel or oak depending on the vintage.’

Biodynamics: 2006 Converted all 25-ha of vineyards to biodynamics under Dr Andrew Lorand from March 2006. | 2008 AB for the first time. For the easy-drinking wines Johannes Hirsch says (Dec 2007) he buys grapes from a neighbour with about 5-ha (conventional) and another 5-ha under organic conversion.

Vineyards: 31 hectares of vineyard. In Kammern & Zöbing. ‘We are very proud of the fact that we can work some of the best vineyard sites in our region: Lamm, Renner, Grub, Gaisberg and the legendary Heiligenstein (all visible from the tasting room). The soils and the microclimates of these sites bring about the evolution of wines possessing deep aromaticity and remarkable vitality, wines which distinguish themselves further through their great ageing potential,’ says Johannes Hirsch.

Vineyards–Ried Gaisberg 1 ÖTW Kammern: The slopes of this wine-growing area extend eastwards from the Heiligenstein mountain (this area is dubbed ‘Heiligenstein’s the little brother’). They have a clear southerly aspect and an average gradient of about 11%. The low-lying areas have highly calcareous chernozem soils with fragments of crystalline rocks, derived from the underlying loess which in turn overlies gravel beds. The upper parts of the slopes consist predominantly of gneiss with amphibolite lenses, and occasional remnants of loess. The overlying soil is a calcareous brown earth with varying proportions of coarse material. Where the brown earth rests directly on gneiss it is generally non-calcareous but it may be calcareous where it has developed on amphibolite. 

Vineyards–Ried Grub 1 ÖTW Kammern: Grub is a kettle-shaped site (a basin) situated between the Heiligenstein and the Gaisberg, protected from the wind on three sides and open to the southwest. The limestone-rich soil is composed of loess, with the consistency of loamy, sandy silt, containing localised embedded veins of grit and gravel. Underneath the loess lies the Zöbing formation with its silt and sandstone. In short, this is ideal Veltliner territory, where the wines tend to be rather delicate–the deepest wines by taste but not alcohol–showing yellow fruit flavours with fine citrus overtones – wines which thanks to their clear minerality are quaffable and vivacious.

Viticulture: ‘To work together with nature, and not against it,’ is the goal here. Compost has been used here as a natural fertilizer since 1978. The raw material for it is local, from a from long-time friend Robert Paget who keeps goats and buffaloes (for his cheese-making business). High density planting, meticulous canopy management and stringent crop reduction are practiced. See also pruning, immediately below. From 2006 the transition to biodynamic viticulture began. ‘This was the logical development of father Josef Hirsch’s practices. He was already using organic compost exclusively as fertiliser by the end of the 1970s,’ says Johannes Hirsch.

Pruning: From 2013 the estate adopted a gentler method of pruning to strengthen the vines follwing the work of Marco Simonit and Pierpalo Sirch in Friuli. This style of pruning requires fewer cuts and contributes greatly to vigorous growth and strengthening of the vines, helping them to draw nourishment more effectively from the soil.

Biodynamic certification: 2006 Conversion to organic status began. | 2010 First vintage with full organic certification. Now certified Biodynamic by respekt-BIODYN.

Kamptal DAC Grüner Veltliner Kammerner Lamm Reserve 1 ÖTW: Loam. The Lamm is whole bunch pressed and then fermented with natural yeasts at ambient temperatures. It is matured in stainless steel tanks and large oak casks and remains on the fine lees through April. The wine is bottled in July following harvest.

Kamptal DAC Grüner Veltliner Ried Grub 1 ÖTW Kammern: From Kammern on the deepest loess layer, giving the deepest wines by taste, not alcohol. | 2016 13.5% alc. Intense, lithe, clear, uplifting, very good (Aug 2020).

Kamptal DAC Riesling Zöbing: 2018 12.5% alc. Dry. Stainless steel maturation. The grapes are hand-picked from select terraced vineyards around Zöbing to give a classic and dry style of Riesling with mineral characters and fruit purity. | 2020 12.5% alc. Stainless steel.

Kamptal DAC Riesling Ried Gaisberg 1 ÖTW Zöbing: This single vineyard Riesling is sourced from 40-year-old vines that thrive on the terraced slopes of the famous Zöbinger Gaisberg vineyard. The eroded primary rock soils offer ideal preconditions for Riesling. Due to their expressive fruit and mineral character, wines from this site tend to charm quite early, yet excel with remarkable ageing potential. The Gaisberg is usually harvested in mid-October, whole cluster pressed, and then exclusively fermented with natural yeasts at ambient temperatures. It is matured in stainless steel tanks and large oak casks and rests on the fine lees through April. The wine is bottled in July following harvest. | 2010 Tough year. Lot of selection need. Acid prominent. Bit of SO2. Some wild ferment aromas. Rich style, honey, nice weight, maybe not huge length, good restaurant wine (Tenuta Manincor 24th June 2016). | 2019 Bottled. | 2017 12.5%. Trocken. Large oak cast/stainless steel. Wonderful purity, salinity, depth and levity, outstanding (tasted June 2021).