Kracher

 The vineyard Kracher is situated directly at the Neusiedlersee, in the very east of Austria, where the Hungarian border is not far away. 

The Kracher Winery on Lake Neusiedl

Since 2007, Gerhard Kra cher and his wife Yvonne have been managing the 35-hectare winery together. Gerhard Kracher is a trained winemaker. He gained his experience with his grandfather, with his father Alois and during several stays abroad. 

On the eastern shore of Lake Neusiedl stretches the Seewinkel National Park, which is a unique natural paradise with a continental, Pannonian climate. Vines find here particularly suitable conditions for their growth: hot, dry summers, very cold winters, a spring full of rain, a long but sunny-mild autumn and the special feature that probably exists only once in the world: Lake Neusiedl with its exceedingly large water surface noticeably mitigates the summer drought. The lake also creates dense evening fog in autumn, which lingers until the morning and is only then gradually dispersed by the sun. While car owners can already see rust growing on their vehicles, the winegrowers from the Kracher Winery are happy about these conditions. Because they are excellently suited for the formation of the mold"Botrytis cinerea", which makes the noble rot for the noble sweet wines possible.

Noble dessert wines from the Kracher Winery

We speak of noble rot when the grapes remain on the vines beyond full ripeness and are then attacked by the aforementioned noble rot fungus Botrytis cinerea. Its spores grow through the berry skin and make it porous. As a result, the water contained in the berry evaporates, it dries out and shrinks like raisins. Fortunately, this rather unsightly process leads to something very beautiful: aroma and sweetness become denser and more intense. The musts obtained from these grapes are correspondingly concentrated, with a sugar content increased to 25-45%. The quality is quite respectable, which is not least proven by more than 80 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. 

These grape varieties are cultivated at Weingut Kracher:

• Chardonnay
• Welschriesling