Martina, Franz und Rosza

Written by Franz Weninger on the 23rd of May 2019

In the town chronicles of Horitschon, the first mention of the name Weninger at Florianigasse 11 is in 1828. The Weninger family cultivated a mixed farm, which was typical for Central Burgenland: it had five cows, 25 hectares of arable land, and five hectares of vineyards. The family bought its first tractor after World War II, but as a boy Franz Ludwig Weninger still learned to work the land with a horse.

Franz Ludwig on the Horse

The Thresher and Rosa’s Promise

In the 1930s the family ordered a mobile threshing machine, which – due to its size and resulting unwieldiness in Horitschon’s narrow streets – is sent straight back. Great-grandfather Franz sued the company but lost. And the farm went up for auction.

Rósza on the tractor

Six years later, “Uncle Franz”, who had emigrated to America in 1928, managed to raise the money to save the farm. In 1951 he visited Austria for for the first time since he left, waived all claims to the farm, and gave it to Ludwig and Rosa. Out of gratitude, Grandmother Rosa promised Uncle Franz to name her first-born son after him. In 1983 Franz Ludwig Weninger – who because of another promise made by his mother Rosa was actually supposed to become a priest – took over the family farm.

Martina & Franz

“After we took over the farm,” Martina Weninger remembers, “we realized that there was a whole new clientele for fine wines.”

Franz Ludwig Weninger often compared the loamy soil on his best sites Hochäcker, Kirchholz, and Dürrau to Pomerol. When it comes to vinification, he opted for long maceration periods.

Franz and Martina expanded their business very quickly. Together with Attila Gere they found a winery in southern Hungary in 1992 (currently 12 hectares), and in 1997 another one in Hungary close to the Austrian border in Sopron-Balf (currently 25 hectares). Over the years the family farm in Horitschon (currently 25 hectares) was transformed into an exclusively wine-growing operation. After 28 successful years, their son Franz Reinhard, who has been in charge of the Sopron-Balf winery since 2000, took over the Horitschon estate together with Petra.

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