The winery
Weinlaubenhof Kracher (Kracher)
Winery in Illmitz (Burgenland, Austria) renowned for noble sweet wines — in particular Trockenbeerenauslesen, Beerenauslesen, Auslesen and Eiswein — with a limited production of dry white and red wines.
- Burgenland (Seewinkel) · Austria
- 9 products
The story
Kracher is a family-owned business with three generations involved in viticulture in the Seewinkel. The name became internationally renowned especially thanks to the innovative work of Alois Kracher, who in the 1990s revived and redefined Austrian sweet wines; today management is entrusted to Gerhard Kracher, who assumed operational leadership in the mid-2000s.
Production philosophy
The estate aims to express the terroir through sweet wines of great finesse and balance: winemaking practices favor fruit expression, elegance and mineral tension rather than mere sugar concentration. For some selections aging in wood is emphasized, while others are kept fresher with extended lees contact or in large vessels.
Terroir and vineyards
The vineyards are located in the Seewinkel area, between Illmitz and the shores of Lake Neusiedl. The Pannonian microclimate, characterized by autumn mists and warm, humid conditions favorable to the development of Botrytis cinerea, is essential for the production of the sweet wines typical of the estate.
Awards and recognition
Significant international recognition: a recent example reported that three Trockenbeerenauslesen were awarded 100 points by The Wine Advocate. The winery is often cited as one of the benchmark producers for Austrian sweet wines.
Characteristics
- Grape varieties
- Welschriesling
- Chardonnay
- Traminer
- Scheurebe
- Muskat-Ottonel
- Zweigelt
- Pinot Gris
- Grüner Veltliner
- Pinot Blanc
- Rosenmuskateller
- Merlot
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Blaufränkisch
What makes it distinctive
- World-renowned specialist in noble sweet wines.
- Three wines awarded 100 points by The Wine Advocate.
- Family-run estate in its third generation; Gerhard Kracher has led it since 2007.
- Library Release: selections cellared for many years and released in designated vintages as collector's bottles.
- Vineyards in Seewinkel's unique microclimate, near the Neusiedlersee.
