You were born and raised in a family of winegrowers. Then you attended our secondary school and during your time at school you became intensively involved with wine from the perspective of a host and guest. When did you realise that wine was going to play an important role in your life?

Contrary to what one might expect, I developed a taste for wine quite late, and in this respect my training as a young sommelier was particularly decisive. The process was certainly accelerated by the many blind tasting tournaments with Bernd Großschädl and Tanja Rappold, for which I am very grateful.

What fascinates you so much about the subject matter?

Well, I don’t think we have that much space to print everything I would have to say on that.

In general, I’m fascinated by how complex this matter is and how dynamic the wine scene can be – every grape lover finds his or her place here.

You are/were a jury member at the tastings of our Styrian Wine Trophy. How important are such awards for the wine industry? Has their importance increased since Corona?

Personally, I don’t pay that much attention to them – I like to make up my own mind about a wine. From the end consumer’s point of view and in the B2B sector, I definitely see these awards as a guideline for the purchase decision, especially in the e-commerce sector and thus I think they are extremely interesting in Corona times. For beginners, it is worthwhile to taste such wines in order to progressively find their personal winner adapted to their individual taste. Traditional tastings, such as the Wine Trophy, have proven their worth and I look forward to being a member of the jury again very soon.

Is there a particular experience related to your wine education at the TSBG that has remained in your memory?

Yes, there are many and each one deserves to be mentioned.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my professors Mr Gerhard Ebner, Mr Johann Sokoll and Mr Horst Roßegger. Without their decisive influence, I probably wouldn’t have come this far

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In the course of your wine academy training you were awarded the Top Student Award – congratulations! Your next goal is to be awarded the Master of Wine – possibly as the fourth Austrian ever and the second from our TSBG family. How do you feel about it? How challenging is the training?

The title Master of Wine is highly sought after worldwide, and the failure rate could also scare you. In May 2021, I will start the programme, which will last at least 3 years. Of course, it will be demanding, more than I can probably imagine at this point. However, I look forward to this future undertaking.

How should your journey continue afterwards? Can you tell us your professional vision?

I will remain loyal to the wine world. Should I be able to qualify for the title, I would like to visit many wine nations and put what I have learned into practice in renowned companies… and of course taste a lot of wine!

One last question: what is your favourite wine?

Oh, the golden question – I have missed it until now 😉

For me, the question is rather “WHEN do I like to drink which wine best”.

In my opinion, every grape variety, every type of vinification and every style of wine always has “its own time to shine” at some point in its life.

But if I am offered a Chenin Blanc from Savennières in the Loire, I will never say no.