Summary
Weingut Sommer in Donnerskirchen is one of the exciting family estates on the Leithaberg in northern Burgenland. Since 2023 it has been run by Leo and Kathrin Sommer, and its winegrowing tradition reaches back to 1698. On around 30 hectares on the south-eastern slopes of the Leithagebirge the estate produces mainly white wines – Grüner Veltliner, Welschriesling, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay – shaped by schist and limestone soils. Leo Sommer calls himself a "wine craftsman": spontaneous fermentation, old casks and as little intervention as possible are his programme. The top wines of the "Handwerk" line have attracted international attention.
History
The Sommer family has grown wine in Donnerskirchen for generations – according to the estate, since 1698. For a long time the winery was known above all for solid, typical Burgenland wines, sold among other things under the name Leopold Sommer.
The youngest generation has sharpened the profile considerably. Leo Sommer first worked in his parents' business before taking over the management together with his wife Kathrin in 2023. He found his inspiration in his grandfather: his work with old casks and spontaneous fermentation became the model for a new, craft-driven style. At the same time the couple converted the vineyards to organic viticulture; 2023 is the first certified vintage. Today around a quarter of production is exported, including to Germany, Switzerland, the USA and Canada.
Location & Terroir
Donnerskirchen lies on the south-eastern edge of the Leithagebirge, a low range of hills between the Vienna Basin and Lake Neusiedl. The vineyards benefit from the Pannonian climate with warm summers, balanced by cool air currents flowing down from the forests of the Leithagebirge.
What defines the site is the geological diversity in a small area: schist, mica schist and gneiss alternate with limestone and quartz. This mix of primary rock and limestone is the hallmark of the Leithaberg and gives the wines their salty, mineral tension. The estate's most important vineyards (Rieden) include Himmelreich, a south-east-facing slope with mica schist, Halser on shell limestone with old vines, and Bergweingarten with the estate's oldest vines, some dating back to the 1950s.
Style & Philosophy
Leo Sommer relies on "minimal intervention with freedom". The vineyards are farmed organically; horses are sometimes even used to work the soil. In the cellar the wines ferment spontaneously and, depending on the line, mature in large old acacia and oak casks, in French barriques, in concrete eggs or in amphorae.
The range is divided into four lines: Klassik for fresh, typical regional wines, Zeitlos for elegant, expressive wines, Leithaberg for purist wines of origin and Handwerk for complex single-vineyard wines made with minimal intervention. Small special bottlings complete the range.
Notable Vineyards & Wines
Among the estate's best-known wines are:
- Grüner Veltliner Ried Halser (Handwerk) – from shell limestone and old vines
- Grüner Veltliner Ried Himmelreich – Leithaberg DAC from mica schist
- Grüner Veltliner "Salz und Rauch" – a limited bottling from the oldest vines
- Riesling and Traminer from the Handwerk line
- Grüner Veltliner Schiefer and Blaufränkisch Leithaberg DAC
Awards
The wines of the Handwerk line have been rated highly by James Suckling – including 97 points for the Riesling and 96 for the Traminer; scores of up to 98 points are reported for the Grüner Veltliner Ried Halser. Falstaff also lists the estate in its wine guide. In a short time Weingut Sommer has developed from a traditional family business into one of the most interesting young addresses on the Leithaberg.
