Behind the Bottle With Weingut Jurtschitsch

Recently, the Acme team had the pleasure of sitting down with Alwin Jurtschitsch, the winemaker behind Weingut Jurtschitsch, one of Austria’s most progressive and quietly revolutionary estates. Alwin may have been born and raised in Kamptal—a cool-climate, picturesque region dotted with steep terraces and winemaking tradition—but his journey has been anything but conventional. After a reluctant harvest stint at his parents’ winery in 2003 (where, incidentally, he met his future wife Stephanie, a German cellar master), Alwin took off to explore the wine world. He studied in Germany, worked harvests abroad, immersed himself in biodynamics in South America, and returned to Austria only after deciding he could forge a new path at the family estate. In 2008, Alwin and Stephanie officially took over—and Kamptal has never looked quite the same.

Under their leadership, Jurtschitsch has transformed from a more traditional house into a beacon of modern, terroir-driven, organic winemaking. Alwin is quick to say they “respect tradition, but aren’t afraid to question it.” The vineyards are now farmed organically, and Alwin and Stephanie have spent years getting to know the soils and microclimates intimately, allowing them to craft wines that are expressive, focused, and firmly rooted in Kamptal’s identity. Spontaneous fermentation, minimal intervention, and old vines are part of the ethos—but so is experimentation and humility. “We're trying to create the future of classics in Kamptal,” Alwin told us, with the kind of grounded optimism that’s hard to fake.

Among their portfolio is the Brut Rosé, a sparkling stunner made in the traditional method with the elegance of Champagne but the charm of Austria; the Grüner Veltliner Terrassen, a fresh, mineral-driven intro to Kamptal; and two Erste Lage bottlings—Loiserberg and Käferberg—that show the depth and complexity Grüner can achieve when site and stewardship align. And don’t overlook their Riesling Zöbing Reserve—a crystalline, electric expression of Kamptal limestone. These wines aren’t flashy. They’re not trying to win beauty contests. They’re thoughtful, drinkable, and alive—kind of like the winemakers themselves.