At A Glance
Weinlaubenhof Kracher is a family winery in Seewinkel, Burgenland, built around sweet wines from botrytis-affected grapes. Lake Neusiedl, evening fog and warm Pannonian weather support the humid conditions behind its Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese; Gerhard Kracher runs the estate with his partner Yvonne.
The Producer
Kracher’s defining bottles are Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, sweet wines made when Botrytis cinerea affects ripe grapes. The estate works with Welschriesling, Chardonnay, Traminer, Scheurebe, Muskat-Ottonel and, on occasion, Zweigelt, so the grape on the label can change both the fruit character and the shape of the sweetness.
Place
Seewinkel lies beside Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland. Evaporation from the lake, evening fog and the warm Pannonian climate create warm, humid conditions, encouraging botrytis on the fruit. That is the engine of Kracher’s sweet-wine range: the local weather supports the berries used for Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese rather than merely providing a backdrop to the label.
Soil And Site
The central physical feature here is Lake Neusiedl and the weather around it. Evening fog arrives alongside warmth and evaporation, creating the moisture pattern that favours Botrytis cinerea; in the finished wines, that pattern appears as a focus on sweet, botrytis-affected fruit rather than on a named single-vineyard bottling.
Story
The family winery’s modern sweet-wine reputation took shape around Alois Kracher Jr. The 1991 vintage was the first Kracher vintage to receive broad acclaim, following years in which he had committed his work to sweet wine. Today Gerhard Kracher and Yvonne continue with a range that still centres Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, while leaving room for Auslese, Eiswein and small quantities of dry white and red wine.
Vineyards And Cellar
Kracher separates its Trockenbeerenauslese wines into two cellar approaches. Zwischen den Seen matures in large wooden barrels or steel tanks and spends extended time on yeast lees, a method that can bring more texture to sweet wine without putting barrique at the centre of the flavour. Nouvelle Vague matures in barriques with air exchange, so oak vessel and maturation become part of the wine’s broader body and finish.
The distinction matters because both styles begin with botrytis-affected fruit but do not receive the same cellar treatment. The estate’s two names therefore tell you something practical about what follows the harvest: lees contact and large wood or steel for Zwischen den Seen; barriques and air exchange for Nouvelle Vague.
Wines
The range extends from Beerenauslese and Auslese to Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese, with a small dry-wine branch beside the sweet wines. Beerenauslese Cuvée, made from Chardonnay and Welschriesling, is the estate’s most important and best-known bottle: a sweet cuvée whose fruit comes from the conditions around Lake Neusiedl.
At the more concentrated end, Trockenbeerenauslese appears in both cellar styles and across several grapes. TBA No. 1 Zweigelt Nouvelle Vague takes the red Zweigelt grape into a sweet, barrique-matured wine, while Grande Cuvée Trockenbeerenauslese Nouvelle Vague places a blended TBA in the same oak-led treatment. The result is a range with sweetness and body as constants, while grape choice and maturation alter the fruit, texture and finish.
In The Glass
Kracher’s sweet wines begin with the ripe, botrytis-affected fruit enabled by Seewinkel’s humid autumn conditions. On the palate, sweetness carries weight and texture; the choice between aromatic white varieties, Chardonnay-Welschriesling blends and occasional Zweigelt shifts the fruit profile before the cellar style takes over.
Zwischen den Seen should be approached through its extended lees contact and maturation in large wood or steel: texture is the useful cue. Nouvelle Vague brings barrique maturation and air exchange into the picture, so oak and the finish become more prominent structural questions. Across both, the key is not sweetness alone but how grape, botrytis and vessel distribute that sweetness across the palate.
A Bottle To Understand It
Beerenauslese Cuvée is the first bottle to seek out. The estate identifies it as its most important and best-known wine, and its Chardonnay-Welschriesling composition places two central Kracher grapes in a botrytis sweet wine from Seewinkel. Expect a sweet, full-bodied palate with fruit at the centre; it introduces the Lake Neusiedl setting before the barrique-led contrast of the Nouvelle Vague TBAs.
Anecdote
In 1981, Alois Kracher Jr. began working part-time at his father’s winery in Seewinkel. In 1986, he joined the family winery full time and focused his work on sweet wine. Five years later, the 1991 Kracher vintage became the first to receive broad acclaim. His sweet-wine work expanded into an annual set of 10 to 15 different Trockenbeerenauslesen, made from grapes including Welschriesling, Chardonnay, Traminer, Scheurebe, Muskat-Ottonel and occasionally Zweigelt. Those TBAs were divided between the Zwischen den Seen and Nouvelle Vague styles, with their differing maturation methods.
Final Word
Kracher begins with a particular weather pattern around Lake Neusiedl and follows it through to bottle: botrytis-affected fruit, sweet wine, then a clear cellar choice between lees-led texture and barrique maturation.
Sources
- www.kracher.at/en/about_us/winery
- www.burgenland.info/dc/detail/POI/weinlaubenhof-kracher-vinothek
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alois_Kracher
- shop.kracher.at/en/Unsere-Beerenauslesen-in-allen-Groessen
- shop.kracher.at/2021-Beerenauslese-Cuvee
- shop.kracher.at/en/2022-TBA-No.-1-Zweigelt/807139
- shop.kracher.at/en/2022-TBA-No.-3-Grande-Cuvee-9l/807145
- www.vintageandvine.com/producers/austria/alois-kracher