View from the hotel to the east on Spitz

View from the hotel to the east on Spitz, Austria. You can see the surrounding vineyards. The estate is located in the small town of Spitz an der Donau in the Wachau wine-growing region in Lower Austria. The family has been resident here since 1789. Today, the estate is run by Karl and Elisabeth Lagler and their son Karl junior. A wine bar as well as a hotel located amidst the vineyards are part of the estate. The property used to supply grapes to the local co-operative (Freie Weingärtner Wachau), but made the change to making marketing its own wines at the end of the 1970’s. From the outset, the motto has been to concentrate on quality, not quantity, and today the estate is considered to be one of the best in Austria. The vineyard area totals 13,5 hectares, with holdings in the following sites: Axpoint, Hartberg, Setzberg, Steinborz, Tausendeimerberg and Vorderseiber. Around two-thirds of the area is terraced, and located on decomposed bedrock soils. White grape varieties planted are Veltliner (40%), Riesling (25%), Pinot Blanc, Neuburger, Rivaner and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as some Zweigelt. Sustainable vineyard practices are employed, with reduced pruning, careful canopy management, thinning out in summer and selective hand-picking. Fermentation is in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, maturation takes place in either tanks or in large oak vats, depending on the variety and quality. The top wines include, for example, the Grüner „Veltliner Smargad Steinborz”, „Riesling Smaragd Steinborz”, „Riesling Smaragd 1000-Eimerberg”, „Grüner Veltliner Selection Elisabeth”, „Riesling Federspiel von den Terrassen” and „Sauvignon Blanc Smaragd Hartberg”. Annual production is around 75.000 bottles of wine. The estate is a member of the Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus association.