Austria has been making world-class wine for centuries. The world is just now catching up.

In this episode of Read Between the Wines, host Pierre Ferland sits down with Wolfgang Hewarth, Winery Director at Esterházy Wein in Burgenland, Austria — one of Central Europe's most historic estates, with winemaking records going back to 1612 and a cellar master hired from Burgundy in 1758. The name alone carries three centuries of imperial history. What Wolfgang is building on top of it is something else entirely.

We talk about what it means to arrive as an outsider and take the long view. We dig into the Leithaberg DAC — one of Austria's most distinctive appellations — and why limestone, mica schist, and a cool Pannonian microclimate produce wines built on tension and precision rather than weight. We get into acidity as a philosophy, not a technical detail. We explore what it takes to use oak purely for ageing, never for flavour. And we ask the question that sits underneath everything Wolfgang does: how do you carry 300 years of history without letting it slow you down?

A bonus episode with Wolfgang is available exclusively on readbetweenthewines.com — deeper into the portfolio, the label story, climate challenges, and what it actually takes to protect freshness when the weather stops cooperating.

Featuring: Esterházy Wein, Burgenland, Austria, Leithaberg DAC, Blaufränkisch.

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