Austria · Neusiedlersee

Weingut Umathum

A Frauenkirchen estate whose Lake Neusiedl vineyards supply dry reds led by Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch, alongside Pinot Noir and sweet Scheurebe.

The producer

Weingut Umathum farms about 30 hectares on both sides of Lake Neusiedl, where slate, lime, clay and gravel divide the estate’s vineyard ground. Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch make up roughly 85% of the vines, placing Burgenland red grapes at the centre of the range. Hand-harvested fruit and large wooden casks carry that vineyard work into wines ranging from dry varietal reds to parcel-labelled bottles.

Josef Umathum took over the family’s wine growing in 1985, after generations of mixed farming and cooperative grape sales. The estate has followed biodynamic agriculture since 2005 without official certification. Start with Zweigelt 2022 for dark cherry, pepper, fresh acidity and a spicy finish; then move to the berry-and-earth character of Unter den Terrassen Pinot Noir or the citrus-and-pineapple sweetness of Scheurebe Beerenauslese.

Known for

Burgenland reds from varied Lake Neusiedl sites, shaped in large wooden casks.

Notable facts

The story

Josef Umathum Takes Over

In 1985, Josef Umathum took over wine growing at the age of 25 on his family’s Frauenkirchen farm. The family had grown vines for generations within a mixed agricultural operation, selling grapes to cooperatives until the late 1970s. Josef redirected the property toward wine, while the estate’s vineyards extended across sites on both sides of Lake Neusiedl. Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch came to occupy most of the vineyard area. During the late 1980s and 1990s, he also began investing in large-format oak for the cellar; in a later account, he counted 70 large wooden casks.

From the atlas

Weingut Umathum

In Frauenkirchen, Burgenland, Weingut Umathum builds its wines around local red grapes, Lake Neusiedl vineyards and large wooden casks.

At A Glance

The Producer

Weingut Umathum is a Frauenkirchen estate whose 30 hectares are weighted toward Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. Those three Austrian red grapes account for roughly 85% of the vines, so the dry red wines provide the centre of the range, while Pinot Noir and sweet Scheurebe broaden it at either end.

The family had grown vines for generations within a mixed farm and sold grapes to cooperatives until the late 1970s. The present estate therefore carries two kinds of work in its bottles: local red varieties in the vineyard, then a cellar built around large wooden casks rather than a line-up of small new barrels.

Place

Umathum farms on both sides of Lake Neusiedl. That spread takes the estate beyond a single patch of ground and supports bottles named for vineyards as well as varietal wines such as Zweigelt and St. Laurent. Frauenkirchen remains the home address; the range moves outward from there across the lake’s varied vineyard ground.

For the dry Zweigelt, the Haideboden area east of Lake Neusiedl supplies the fruit. Its dry, well-drained mix of humus, gravel and loam sits behind a wine that keeps 12.5% alcohol while carrying dark fruit, pepper and fresh acidity.

Soil And Site

Slate, lime, clay and gravel occur across Umathum’s holdings. Rather than folding those soils into one undifferentiated red, the estate also works with named vineyards: Ried Hallebühl, Vom Stein, Haideboden and Kirschgarten.

Kirschgarten contains Burgenland’s only cultivated stone terrace. It is a physical feature with a direct place in the range: Kirschgarten appears on a Blaufränkisch bottle, keeping that terrace and its parcel separate from the estate’s wider red-wine blends.

Story

The change from mixed farm to wine-focused estate shaped the range now on offer. Grapes once left the property for cooperatives; the estate now follows individual grapes and vineyards through to bottles, from a straightforward dry Zweigelt to named-vineyard reds and a 375ml Scheurebe Beerenauslese.

That shift did not erase the farm’s agricultural roots. It concentrated them: the estate’s three main red varieties occupy most of the vineyard area, while the separate Pinot Noir and sweet-wine bottlings show that the work was never confined to one grape or one wine style.

Vineyards And Cellar

Umathum began working biodynamically in 2005, following Rudolf Steiner’s principles, without seeking official certification. Grapes are hand-harvested so mature, healthy fruit reaches the cellar intact; that selection comes before fermentation and helps determine the fruit available for a dry red or a sweet wine.

Large wooden casks are a central cellar tool. In the 2022 Zweigelt, spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel was followed by a year in old, large Viennese oak. Old, large wood has a gentler imprint than small new barrels, leaving the wine’s cherry fruit, pepper and acidity ahead of overt oak flavour.

Wines

The range begins with dry reds from Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch, then narrows into named-vineyard wines from places including Hallebühl, Vom Stein and Kirschgarten. Zweigelt 2022 is a dry, 100% Zweigelt at 12.5% alcohol, with 1.2g/L residual sugar and 5.2g/L acidity: a red built for fruit, body and freshness rather than sweetness.

Unter den Terrassen Pinot Noir 2021 is a separate red expression from marl and slate, with 13.5% alcohol, 5.3g/L acidity and 1g/L residual sugar. At the other end of the range, Beerenauslese 2022 is Scheurebe in a 375ml bottle: sweet at 153.6g/L residual sugar, yet carried by 6.8g/L acidity and only 9.5% alcohol.

In The Glass

Zweigelt 2022 opens with dark cherry, pepper, freshly turned earth, dark berries and black olive. The palate moves through black cherry, plum and wild strawberry, with acidity running through the fruit and a fresh, spicy finish. Its dry shape and moderate alcohol keep the wine from becoming heavy.

Unter den Terrassen Pinot Noir 2021 moves to raspberry, blackberry, redcurrant, mushroom, leather and undergrowth. The marl-and-slate wine has a silky texture, with coffee and chocolate notes adding savoury depth around the berry fruit. Beerenauslese 2022 changes the scale again: lychee, citrus and pineapple lead, while the high acidity keeps its dense sweetness fresh through the finish.

A Bottle To Understand It

Begin with Zweigelt 2022. It is the estate’s core red grape in a dry, 100% varietal bottle, made from Haideboden fruit and matured for a year in old large oak after stainless-steel fermentation. The wine is full-bodied and rounded, with dark cherry and sour-cherry fruit, peppery spice and 5.2g/L acidity. It introduces the grape that occupies much of Umathum’s vineyard area before the range turns to named parcels, Pinot Noir or sweet Scheurebe.

Anecdote

In 1985, Josef Umathum took over wine growing at the age of 25 on his family’s Frauenkirchen farm. Vines had been grown there for generations within a mixed agricultural operation, and its grapes had been sold to cooperatives until the late 1970s. Umathum redirected the property firmly toward wine. The land that had supplied cooperatives developed into an estate working vineyards on both sides of Lake Neusiedl, with Zweigelt, St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch taking the largest share of the vines. During the late 1980s and 1990s, he also began investing in large-format oak for the cellar; in a later account, he counted 70 large wooden casks.

Final Word

Umathum’s dry Zweigelt, vineyard-labelled reds, Pinot Noir and sweet Scheurebe all begin with different fruit, but the through-line is concrete: hand-harvested grapes, varied Lake Neusiedl ground and maturation in large wood.

Sources

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