Summary
Weingut Schwarz in Andau, on the eastern edge of Lake Neusiedl, is one of the most unusual success stories in Burgenland. It was founded by Hans Schwarz, a master butcher who for years pursued winegrowing purely as a passion — until he bottled his first wine under his own name in 1999. That Schwarz Rot, a single-varietal Zweigelt aged in barriques, struck a nerve: dark, dense and yet elegant, it became a cult wine within a few years. Today the estate farms around twelve hectares, and since 2017 his son Michael Schwarz has been at the helm.
History
The story of this estate does not begin in a cellar but in a butcher's shop. Hans Schwarz was a master butcher in Andau and treated wine as a sideline at first — a hobby that kept getting more serious. Friends and tasters eventually pushed him to sell what he was making. In 1999 he brought his first vintage to market under his own name.
What followed was a small sensation. Schwarz Rot — uncompromisingly made from Zweigelt, with low yields, long maceration and ageing in small oak barrels — collected top scores and quickly turned into a sought-after rarity. The roles reversed: butchery became the hobby, wine the profession. The range named The Butcher still nods to those roots today.
In 2017 Hans Schwarz handed responsibility to his son Michael Schwarz, who had already been working in the business. He continues in his father's handwriting: honest, down-to-earth wines meant to be enjoyed — while the top bottlings keep the density the name stands for.
Location & terroir
Andau lies in the Seewinkel, the flat, Pannonian-influenced stretch of land east of Lake Neusiedl, right on the Hungarian border. It is one of the sunniest and warmest areas in Austria. Long, hot summers and a generous autumn sun mean red grapes ripen reliably — one reason the Neusiedlersee area became the country's red wine stronghold.
The region is defined by gravel and pebble soils, often mixed with sand and loam. They store heat during the day and release it to the vines during cooler nights, a natural heat store that encourages ripe, supple tannins. At the same time these soils drain freely and are rather poor, which naturally limits yields and concentrates the berries. Nearby Lake Neusiedl acts as a temperature buffer and softens the risk of late frosts.
Besides the vineyards around Andau, the estate also sources fruit from other parts of Burgenland, including the area of St. Georgen am Leithaberg and Mittelburgenland around Lutzmannsburg, the classic home of Blaufränkisch.
Style & philosophy
The house style is unmistakable: powerful, dark-fruited reds with substance but without hardness. It starts with low yields and rigorous selection; in the cellar there are longer macerations and ageing in oak, with barriques for the top wines. The wood is there for structure and ageing potential, not to bury the fruit.
At the same time the estate never fell into the trap of sheer muscle. Recent vintages in particular show a deliberately gentler extraction and more drinkability. Michael Schwarz sums up the philosophy simply: wine should be fun — a claim that applies to the easy-going ranges just as much as to the reserve wines. The red portfolio is rounded out by rosé and a few whites, for instance from Chardonnay and Grüner Veltliner.
Notable vineyards & wines
The portfolio is clearly structured and runs from everyday bottles to collector's items:
- Schwarz Rot – the varietal Zweigelt from barrique, the estate's cult wine; also in demand in magnum and double magnum formats
- The Butcher – the humorously labelled range of generous red blends, a homage to the family's butchery past
- Kumarod – a line of red, white and rosé wines for uncomplicated drinking
- Neusiedlersee DAC – Zweigelt that shows the typicity of its origin
- Varietal wines from Blaufränkisch, Merlot and other grapes, plus older-vintage rarities
It is worth noting that the estate does not lean on famous historic single vineyards. It built its reputation purely on what is in the glass — a rare kind of career in a wine world so fond of tradition.
Awards
Since its 1999 debut, the estate's wines have consistently ranked among Austria's highly rated reds. Schwarz Rot earned top marks from the very start and became the flagship for varietal Zweigelt; recent bottlings reach scores in the region of 95 to 97 points at Falstaff, and the estate's wines sit reliably in the high nineties there. More important than any single score, though, is the effect: hardly any other producer has shown so clearly that Zweigelt can be great as a single variety — and that a newcomer from the Seewinkel can join the front rank of Austrian red wine within a few years.