Silke Mayr’s family purchased the winery and cellar in Dross in 1898. Dross is in the Kremstal, one of the first places that grapes were cultivated in Austria in the Middle Ages. The family home dates to the 15th century and was once used as a waystation for changing horses so that they had the horsepower to continue the ascent into the Waldwiertal region. The original property had two cellars, a press house, a stable, a ballroom, and two dining rooms. Silke’s father Anton moved the family business away from agriculture and towards viticulture and Silke’s mother ran a very successful inn until her retirement in 2012. Now Silke manages the vineyards and winery.

Vorspannhof-Mayr makes an assortment of single-vineyard wines, mostly Gruner Veltliner and Riesling, but since we sell Weingut Buchegger, the winery from Silke’s late husband Walter Buchegger, we have focused on selling the Gruner Veltliner and Zweigelt in the liter bottle format. The quality is exceptional since half of the fruit for each bottling comes from the Mayr family vineyards and the other half is purchased from neighboring growers in Dross and Krems. It’s rare to have a liter bottle that is sourced entirely from fruit in the Kremstal region!