Austria · Other producers

Weingut Philipp Grassl

A third-generation Göttlesbrunn family estate focused on Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent, with organically farmed, dry-grown vineyards behind its Carnuntum reds.

The producer

Weingut Philipp Grassl makes red wines in Göttlesbrunn from Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent. Rubin Carnuntum puts Zweigelt at the centre; Neuberg offers the more approachable blend, while Bärnreiser takes on greater body, tannin and weight. Rubin has been in the range for 30 years and has moved away from a heavier style, making it a direct way into the estate’s dry, fruit-led reds.

The Grassl family has worked with wine since the 18th century, with its first recorded bottling in the 1950s. Philipp Grassl took over after 2006, and the vineyard work changed in dated steps: full organic farming from 2015, biodynamic techniques from 2019, dry farming and legume-and-clover cover crops between the rows. Those choices keep the wines tied to a living vineyard before each bottle reaches the cellar.

Known for

Carnuntum reds built around Zweigelt, with Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent in the wider range.

Notable facts

The story

A Sonoma County internship

In 1997, Philipp Grassl went to Sonoma County for an internship. He encountered two very different kinds of winemaking there: industrial production and small-scale, high-quality work. The experience changed his path before he later took over the family winery after 2006. Back in Göttlesbrunn, he joined a family with wine activity reaching to the 18th century and a first recorded bottling in the 1950s. The internship came before his leadership of the estate, when his view of wine was being formed beyond the family vineyards and before the later shift to organic farming and biodynamic techniques.

A Sonoma County internship

In 1997, Philipp Grassl went to Sonoma County for an internship. He encountered two very different kinds of winemaking there: industrial production and small-scale, high-quality work. The experience changed his path before he later took over the family winery after 2006. Back in Göttlesbrunn, he joined a family with wine activity reaching to the 18th century and a first recorded bottling in the 1950s. The internship came before his leadership of the estate, when his view of wine was being formed beyond the family vineyards and before the later shift to organic farming and biodynamic techniques.

From the atlas

Weingut Philipp Grassl

At A Glance

Weingut Philipp Grassl is a third-generation family estate in Göttlesbrunn, Austria, working chiefly with Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent. Its red-wine range has a clear internal order: Rubin Carnuntum places Zweigelt at the centre, Neuberg is the more approachable red blend, and Bärnreiser takes a more substantial role. The vineyards are dry-farmed, organically certified and worked with biodynamic techniques, so the bottles begin with red grapes grown without irrigation rather than a cellar formula applied afterward.

The Producer

Wine has been part of the Grassl family’s activities since the 18th century, but the first recorded bottling came in the 1950s. Philipp Grassl took over after 2006, bringing a later generation to a family estate whose wines now move from a Carnuntum Zweigelt to layered blends. Göttlesbrunn is the fixed point: it is where the family farms its red grapes and where the names Rubin Carnuntum, Neuberg and Bärnreiser take their place in the range.

Place

Göttlesbrunn provides the estate’s home, while Carnuntum appears directly on the Rubin Carnuntum label. That distinction is useful in the glass: Göttlesbrunn names the producer’s base, while Carnuntum identifies the wider wine place attached to its Zweigelt-led Rubin. Rather than treating the region as decoration, Grassl uses it on a wine that has remained in the market for 30 years and developed into a house classic.

Soil And Site

The estate does not need invented hillside drama to explain its vineyard work. Its vines are dry-farmed and planted with legume and clover cover crops, which means the ground between rows is actively managed rather than left bare. That choice puts farming at the centre of the red wines: Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent are grown in vineyards where water use and living cover are part of the annual work.

Story

The long Grassl family history is not presented as an unbroken line of estate bottlings. Wine activity reaches back to the 18th century, while bottling under the family name is recorded from the 1950s. After Philipp Grassl took over, the vineyard programme changed in dated steps: the estate moved fully to organic farming in 2015 and added biodynamic techniques from 2019. Those decisions matter because Rubin, Neuberg and Bärnreiser are not simply labels in a red-wine portfolio; they come from vineyards managed through a specific shift in farming.

Vineyards And Cellar

Organic certification, dry farming and cover crops establish the vineyard framework before grapes reach the cellar. Biodynamic techniques have been used since 2019, extending that work beyond the certified organic conversion. In the cellar, the wines remain distinct rather than being treated as one generic red: Neuberg 2023, Bärnreiser 2023 and Rubin Carnuntum 2024 each have their own vinification and maturation details. The consequence is a range built bottle by bottle, with Zweigelt leading Rubin and the blends taking different positions through body, tannin and weight.

Wines

Rubin Carnuntum is the anchor wine: a Zweigelt-led Carnuntum red that has been on the market for three decades. Philipp Grassl has described its style as moving away from a heavier expression, so Rubin belongs at the fresher, more direct end of the estate’s red architecture rather than being treated as an oversized reserve wine. Neuberg sits above that starting point as Bärnreiser’s more approachable counterpart, while Bärnreiser is the red blend for a slower look at the estate’s more substantial side. Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent widen the grape foundation beneath these wines, keeping the range rooted in Austrian red varieties rather than one grape alone.

In The Glass

Begin with structure. Rubin Carnuntum’s Zweigelt base and its move toward less weight suggest a dry red where fruit should arrive before excess body, with acidity and tannin carrying the palate rather than being buried by mass. Neuberg and Bärnreiser then ask for a different rhythm: blends can bring several grape characters into one wine, so aroma, texture and grip matter as much as a first impression of fruit. Across the range, look for red-fruit perfume, dry tannin, medium-to-full body and a finish shaped by each wine’s own maturation rather than expecting every bottle to taste alike.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Rubin Carnuntum. It is the estate’s Zweigelt-led Carnuntum wine, has a 30-year history in the range, and reflects Philipp Grassl’s stated move away from a heavier style. Expect a dry red with fruit at the front, moderate weight, acidity to keep the palate moving and tannin that adds grip through the finish. It comes first because it connects the Göttlesbrunn estate, Carnuntum on the label, Zweigelt in the vineyard and the family’s most established house wine in one bottle.

Anecdote

In 1997, Philipp Grassl went to Sonoma County for an internship. There he encountered two very different kinds of winemaking: industrial production on one side and small-scale, high-quality work on the other. The experience changed his path before he later took over the family winery after 2006. Back in Göttlesbrunn, the estate remained tied to the Grassl family’s earlier wine history, which reaches to the 18th century and includes its first recorded bottling in the 1950s. The Sonoma internship belongs to the period before Philipp Grassl led the winery, when his view of wine was formed outside the family vineyards.

Final Word

Grassl is a producer to approach through its red-wine sequence: begin with Zweigelt in Rubin Carnuntum, then move to Neuberg and Bärnreiser when a blend with more body and tannin is wanted. The estate’s organic, dry-farmed vineyards keep that progression connected to Göttlesbrunn rather than detached from the ground.

Sources

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