Johannes Hirsch, in his own words:
Close friends frequently tell me, they find that my family name, which means ‘stag’ in German, suits me very well. The noble red deer in our forests is known for being undaunted by obstacles, but rather remains unperturbed on his path and clears them with a leap. And I must admit, a certain level of ‘attitude’ is in fact one of my most conspicuous qualities – I have this from my father. My dad Josef Hirsch is an unbelievably determined man, who is not to be dissuaded or diverted once he has become convinced of an idea.
To be sure, it was a particularly headstrong notion when we decided to bottle our entire portfolio under screwcap – but developments have proven us right; today this closure is praised by sommeliers and connoisseurs in equal measure. We made another radical departure, when we decided more than ten years ago to work with only Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. But this decision was based on intimate familiarity with our region, the soils and the climate, which we acquired over the space of many years. My experience convinced me that Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are the varieties best suited to the Kamptal. And in the meantime, introduction of the DAC regional branding has confirmed this same position as the official philosophy of the region.
Our Weingut Hirsch is a family estate. My wife Sandra and I cultivate 31 hectares of vineyard, energetically supported by my father Josef and my mother Christine. We are very proud of the fact that we can work some of the best vineyard sites in our region: Lamm, Renner, Grub, Gaisberg and the legendary Heiligenstein. The soils and the microclimates of these sites bring about the evolution of wines possessing deep aromaticity and remarkable vitality, wines which distinguish themselves further through their great aging potential.