|
|
Heribert Bayer, one of Austria's first oenologists and a pioneer of modern Austrian red wine production, is celebrating his eightieth birthday. Bayer studied chemistry in Milan, worked as a manager for several chemical companies and began his career in the wine industry as a career changer. Initially he worked as an oenological consultant for renowned Burgenland wineries and made a name for himself in the wine scene after the wine scandal of 1985/86. He was instrumental in the reorientation of the Austrian red wine style, whose models he found in the USA, Italy and France. With the application of malolactic fermentation and the use of barrique barrels, he has been one of the pioneers of modern red wine production in Austria ever since.
In 1994 he produced his own wine for the first time, and in 1997 he founded the winery "Heribert Bayer - Kellerei In Signo Leonis" in Neckenmarkt (Burgenland). The name means "In the Sign of the Lion" and refers to his star sign. This is also the name of the red wine cuvée that still exists today. In 2002, he opened a new winery building. Responsibility for the cellar was taken over by his son Patrick Bayer, who has been running the winery with 20 ha of vineyards since 2006.
(uka / Photo: Heribert Bayer)