Fritz Miesbauer named Winegrower of the Year 2020


Fritz Miesbauer named Winegrower of the Year 2020  image credits:  Point of View, Robert Herbst

Falstaff magazine has named Fritz Miesbauer as Winegrower of the Year 2020.

The announcement has brought honour to the city of Krems, who are currently celebrating alongside 28 monks and Weingut Stift Gottweig.

The honour of Weingut Stadt Krems being shot to the peak of Austria’s winemaking elite, and elevated Weingut Stift Göttweig to star status at the same time can be attributed directly to the labors of Managing Director Fritz Miesbauer.

Miesbauer had previously served as cellar director at what is now Domäne Wachau, with an outstanding record of accomplishment there before taking over the helm of Weingut Stift Göttweig in 2003, which had been on the decline then.

“I was always convinced that the estate’s vineyards held tremendous potential,” Miesbauer says with delight. Numerous things had to happen before that brilliance could be reflected in the bottle, however, such as rehabilitation of the vines, replanting 29 hectares of vines , four phases of renovation, expansion and modernization (2004, 2006, 2011 and 2019).  Ultimately, it did yield fruit.

 “When I came to the company in 2003, the mayor at the time, Franz Hölzl, laid out four goals that I should achieve: high quality, good image, economic independence and the trust of the city administration. We’re three mayors past that point, and at this point we’ve reached each of those goals, all while working in friendly partnership, “ says Mr Miesbauer.