(Manfred Klimek)
There are usually two factors that define great winemakers. Firstly: their wines. Secondly: their influence on the country’s wine industry. Anton Kollwentz, the winemaker with the hat, fulfilled both. This made not only his wines iconic, but also himself – this ever-friendly, approachable, shrewd old man whom I had known since my youth, from the time he was in his prime, and when, following the 1985 wine scandal, had only just begun looking for new wines. I found most of these among very young winemakers of my own generation. But also among those ‘old hands’ like Kollwentz, who had realised that no stone could be left unturned if Austrian viticulture was to survive.
It survived, weathered the crisis and rose from the ashes. The Austrian winegrowers and their associations pulled themselves out of the mire entirely under their own steam in the 1980s. And one of these winegrowers – by no means the least of them – was none other than Anton Kollwentz.
Anton Kollwentz from Großhöflein am Leithaberg died on 4 March 2026 at the age of 85. With his passing, Austrian viticulture has lost one of its quiet but pivotal pioneers – a man who never needed grand gestures to make a great impact; but one who spoke with calm assurance about soils, grape varieties and barrels – whilst always conveying the impression that viticulture was, above all, a matter of patience and experience. Which, of course, is true.
Born in 1940, during the war, and having experienced hardship as a child, Kollwentz took on responsibility for his parents’ business whilst still a very young man. And his flair for spotting trends became apparent early on. In 1958, he planted the first large-scale Zweigelt vineyard in Burgenland; a few years later, he pressed the first ‘Ausbruch’ outside Rust. Yet his true significance for Austrian viticulture lies elsewhere. It lies in his consistent, strategic work in the cellar and the vineyard. Whilst Austria had to fight for its credibility on the international stage, a new, impressive sense of seriousness emerged in many estates. Austrian viticulture was ‘in a bit of a mess’; Kollwentz was one of those experienced winegrowers who provided guidance at that time.
Particularly when it came to red wine. And, a little later, particularly when it came to white wine.
At a time when Austria was almost exclusively associated internationally with white wine, Kollwentz was already working to highlight Burgenland’s potential for great red wines. In the early 1980s, he even secured a special permit – against resistance from the authorities – to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, a provocative move at the time and one that was almost revolutionary. At the same time, he remained committed to Blaufränkisch, which he always regarded as one of the region’s great grape varieties.
This work gave rise to wines that are now counted amongst the region’s icons: Steinzeiler, Point, Setz and Dürr (red) and Tatschler, Neusatz, Katterstein, Gloria and Steinmühle (white); names that have become synonymous with great Burgenland wines for generations of wine drinkers – iconic premium estates.
A crucial aspect of this style lay in the use of wood. Long before ageing in barriques became the norm in Austrian viticulture, Kollwentz experimented extensively with French oak barrels and malolactic fermentation. Over the decades, this evolved into a wealth of experience in oak ageing that has given the winery a distinct advantage to this day. At Kollwentz, oak was never a passing fad – but rather a modern tool designed to shape structure, depth and ageing potential.
Anyone who tasted Kollwentz’s wines quickly realised that this was someone who worked with great consistency. Power was permitted, but never without balance. Maturity was important, but never without balance. Balance was, and remains, the estate’s greatest asset.
Kollwentz was also committed to Burgenland viticulture beyond his own estate. In 1995, the ‘Renommierte Weingüter Burgenland’ association was founded, and he served as its president for ten years. In this role, he played a key part in raising Burgenland’s international profile as a source of great red wines.
Yet however much his influence was recognised within the industry, Anton Kollwentz remained, true to his nature, a rather reserved person. He was someone who preferred to talk about wine rather than about himself. It is precisely in this that the greatness of his life’s work lies.
For much of what we now take for granted – the international recognition of Burgenland red wines, the trust in provenance and vineyard sites, the precise use of oak in ageing – was pioneered and shaped by winemakers such as Kollwentz. And when we open a bottle of Steinzeiler, Dürr, Tatschler or Steinmühle today, it tells us not only of a vintage and a vineyard, but also a great deal about that once-young couple in Burgenland who, consciously or unconsciously, were to leave their mark on the region’s viticulture.
And that is what turns good and very good winemakers into great ones. Boys to Men: Anton Kollwentz was there right from the start. Thank you for so many wonderful and happy hours.