Grower Website Leth Region: Austria - Wagram

Established in the early 1960s, three generations of the Leth family have worked tirelessly to establish Weingut Leth as a renowned Fels am Wagram winery.  The Leth family are members of the Traditionsweinguter Osterreich (the association of traditional wineries in Austria). They strive to convey the highest and best characteristics of their region, their soils, their climate and their grape varieties through the wines they produce. Franz Leth, Franz Jr. and the entire Leth family are committed to the deepest expression of place.

The Wagram region of Austria is home to Europe’s most extensive loess soil formations. The region formed when glacial winds blew fine particles of agglomerated clay, sand and lime – loess – onto the prehistoric bedrock of the ancient course of the Danube river. The layers are up to 65 feet/20 meters deep and enable vine roots to delve deeply and absorb water and nutrients from the mineral-rich subsoils. Combined with the benevolent climate and wide temperature variation from day to night, perfect conditions combine to create unique terroir wines.

Throughout the winery’s history continuing to the present, the family Leth farms and produces wines with passion, idealism and innovation.

VINEYARDS

The Leth vineyards are situated in the heart of the Wagram wine-growing region in Fels am Wagram. The Wagram offers excellent conditions for viticulture, with its loess slopes. The main grape varieties are Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, and the aim is to vinify a first-class and high-quality wine in the most natural way possible. Countless national and international awards and prestigious ratings are proof that Leth is on the right track.

EXPERIMENTAL VARIETAL VINEYARD

Franz Leth senior realized his dream to plant a mixed vineyard of rare and ancient grape varieties some 20 years ago. No one would have expected that it would become home to more than 250 varieties in one single vineyard. In cooperation with the Klosterneuburg wine school, researchers and nursery schools, he has made 15 seedlings of each individual species, identified them with a sign and cultivated them. The goal of the collection has always been to preserve virtually extinct, traditional and regional grape varieties. Today, the collection includes regional varieties from Lower Austria, but also rare varieties once native to the Steiermark, Burgenland, Italy, Hungary, Germany, the Czech Republic and the USA. Meanwhile the variety of vines is the largest of its kind in Austria and forms a fascinating and popular field of activity for research.