winery

Weinbau Wenzel

Burgenland, Austria

Philosophy

Michael Wenzel practices spontaneous fermentation with minimal intervention—unfined, unfiltered, low or absent sulfur additions. For the Wild + Free line, grapes see ten days of skin-contact maceration. His winemaking embraces the philosophy that wine should reveal terroir transparently: soil, vintage, and the integrity of the fruit itself.

Reputation

Since 1647, the Wenzel family has worked the land near the town of Rust, on the western side of Lake Neusiedl, in the Burgenland region of Austria. Rust has had a long, storied history in the wine world, at one time producing wines so renowned that they were able to buy their way into the special standing of "royal free city" in 1681 during the reign of Emperor Leopold I.

AllocationWild + Free 2023 vintage not explicitly verified in search results; 2018 vintage confirmed on RAW WINE. Producer practices organic viticulture (confirmed organic conversion 2008) but no formal certification bodies listed in sources—marked as 'organic_practicing' per schema. Vineyard holdings listed variously as 9–11 hectares across sources (10 hectares used as median). Production volume of 45,000 bottles annual from one German retailer source (weine-feinkost.de). RAW WINE lists vineyard as 'Organic / Biodynamic (uncertified)'—no Demeter or formal biodynamic certification found. No US importer identified; HØTOFT confirmed as distributor (likely European). Michael Wenzel took over family estate c. 1995 after studies and work abroad; wife Sonja Priller now co-operates winery. Succession appears stable, family-owned. Winemaking philosophy centers on Furmint revival (father Robert and grandfather smuggled clones 1984) and natural/minimal-intervention methods. Wild + Free line characterized by spontaneous fermentation, skin-contact maceration (10 days), and minimal sulfur. | Importer overflow captured (importer_other): 'HØTOFT (distributor)'

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