The Winery

The Sonnenmulde organic winery of the Schreiner family is located in Gols, one of the most famous and successful wine-growing communities in Austria. There, on the north-eastern shore of Lake Neusiedl, the estate has been owned by our family for many generations. The name Sonnenmulde originated from a vineyard situated in a hollow and the logo, the vine-crowned sun, has always been on the label of our wines.

Excellent soils and the best climatic conditions are the foundation on which we grow our wines. We focus on fruity, clear and typical wines, which especially reflect the climate and the character of the soil. We provide more information about this topic on our wine’s origins page.

All wines are developed vegan. Many years of experience combined with an uncompromising dedication to organic farming and the highest standards in vineyards and cellar alike, guarantee top quality in all wine categories. Numerous top results in national and international wine competitions every year are proof of this and encourage us to stick to our philosophy.

The Family

As long as we can trace back records of our family, our ancestors have been growing wine. In the 1920s, when even the bottling of wine was already something special, our winery already stood for sophisticated wine culture and the finest quality wines. This attitude has remained with us to this day and is still decisive for our operating philosophy.

Of course a lot has changed over the years, but still all members of the family are wholeheartedly involved. Today the siblings Andreas and Kathrin Schreiner run the business, supported by their families. The grandparent generation is still active tough. Renate and Hans continue to provide advice and assistance. Together they all share the tasks and joys of living a winemaker’s life.

Organic Winegrowing

Since the middle of the 2000s we have been operating our winery as an organic farm. This means intensive work with the soil, the plants and all other living beings that populate a vineyard, as opposed to a simplistic, sole focus on the vines alone. Everything revolves around the formation of a diverse ecosystem, in place of a barren monoculture. Soil revitalisation through green manure and compost provides all of the nutrients that the vines need, entirely without chemicals or artificial fertilizers. Many useful insects find their ideal habitat in an organic vineyard, keeping pests in check and attracting larger animals like birds and mammals. A vital environment leads to healthy and strong vines that grow the very best grapes, full of sweetness, aroma and perfectly natural of course.

Native animals and plants, which are at home in our organic vineyards, also represent our wines on the label. Each symbol shares a special characteristic or a little story with the wine it stands for. And and every bottle of our wines helps to get the word out that there is much more than just vines in an organic vinyard.

Vineyards

Gols is a preferred spot for winemaking. Here in the Burgenland, on the eastern shore of Lake Neusiedl with its National Park lies the Seewinkel, the westernmost spur of the Hungarian lowlands. North of it stretches a large ice-age gravel terrace left behind by the Danube, the Parndorfer Platte. On the gentle slope of this plate towards Lake Neusiedl and in the plain in front of it stretches the old wine-growing area of Gols.

The nearby lake characterizes our climate and the extremely warm and dry conditions have been utilised for over two thousand years to grow white, red and sweet wines. Today Gols with its more than 100 wineries is especially famous for great red wines, full-bodied white wines and high quality dessert wines. However, by harvesting early, often even at night, we create every year equally light and fruity white wines in spite of climate change, which we have of course also felt for quite some time.

The soils of our region were deposited by the Danube in primeval times and as a result they often exhibit very different conditions in a small area. Roughly, however, they can be divided into two categories.

On the one hand there are the locations around the village and on the slope of the Parndorfer Platte towards Lake Neusiedl. On warm gravel and loess soils, many expressive, strong red wines like our Blauer Zweigelt or Cabernet Sauvignon thrive. But also refreshing white wines like our Welschriesling and even the Sauvignon Blanc feel very comfortable in this area.

The other category includes sites located between Gols and Lake Neusiedl, which together form the well-known Heideboden. This is the name of the strip that runs between the lake and the foothills of the Parndorfer Platte, roughly from Weiden via Gols and Mönchhof towards Halbturn. Here warm gravel soils alternate with deep, calcareous and cooler grounds. Our early-ripening red wine grapes like St. Laurent or Pinot Noir grow in cooler areas. In warmer spots, Riesling, Donauriesling and of course our Blaufränkisch thrive.

The rich diversity of soil conditions allows us to cultivate a large number of individual grape varieties on precisely the soils that best suit their needs. Of course, it takes years of experience to make the best possible use of the different types of soil in combination with the grape varieties, but it is also a prerequisite for producing excellent quality wines. Through our connection with our vineyards, the vines and our soils, which has lasted for generations, we can rely on exactly this important sense for the big picture. And you can taste that!