Weingut Pittnauer

The Free Bacchus Story

About thirty years ago Gerhard and Brigitte Pittnauer took over 3.8 hectares of vines from Gerhard’s parents in Gols, on the north shore of the Neusiedlersee, and jumped, as they put it, into cold water. They call Gerhard the visionary and Brigitte the realist, and the estate is still small: the two of them, a handful of staff and occasionally the next generation.

In 1998 they joined Pannobile, a well-known group of growers from the region, and in 2001 they built a winery out among the vineyards. In 2006 they began converting to biodynamic farming, and the winemaking turned more minimal with it. In 2014 and 2016 Falstaff and Gault&Millau, Austria’s two big wine guides, gave them their winemaker of the year awards. Today they make wines in the natural style, with as little done to them in the cellar as possible.

Burgenland is Austria’s red-wine country, and Blaufränkisch is its signature grape. It sits somewhere near Syrah for pepper and near Pinot Noir for weight, with acidity that keeps it upright. The Pittnauers call their Ungerberg Blaufränkisch a flagship.

Gerhard Pittnauer was one of the growers who founded respekt-BIODYN, the biodynamic association, in 2007, and in 2026 the family left it on friendly terms. So the estate no longer holds a biodynamic certification. It is certified organic, for its grapes and its wine, on the EU register.