The winery is located in the community of Mönchhof in the Burgenland wine-growing region of
Neusiedlersee (Austria). It was founded in 1910 by Albert Pöckl, who had returned from America at the time. After the war Theodor Pöckl took over the farm in 1947. He was followed in 1979 by his son Josef Pöckl (1951-2011), who gradually converted to red wine production. The barrique maturation was started in 1989. "Admiral Pepsch" is considered one of the most important Austrian red wine pioneers. After his death, the company has been managed since 2011 by his son René Pöckl, who had been responsible for the entire wine line since 2001. The vineyards comprise 32 hectares of vineyards in the Kaiserberg, Kreuzjoch, Kurzbühl, Langberg, Pohnbühl, Rappühl and Wiesacker areas. They are 99% planted with the red wine varieties Zweigelt,
Blaufränkisch, Blauburgunder, St. Laurent, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and
Blaufränkisch. The small rest are the white wine varieties Welschriesling, Chardonnay and Scheurebe. In addition, grapes from contract winegrowers are also bought in.
The flagship of the house is the red wine cuvée "Admiral" (70% Zweigelt, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot). The "Mystique" cuvée, produced only in the best years and in the smallest quantities, serves to further develop the Admiral concept. Silence is maintained about the cuvéetierung, but in a blind tasting this wine beat for example the red wine from the famous
Château Lynch-Bages in Pauillac. With the exception of pure Pinot Noir, the premium wines are red wine cuvées, most of which are aged for at least 18 months in barriques with a high proportion of new barrels. These are for example "Rêve de Jeunesse" = youth dream (Syrah, Zweigelt, Merlot, CS), "Rosso e Nero" (Zweigelt,
Blaufränkisch, CS, Merlot) and only since 2004 "Solo Rosso" (Zweigelt,
Blaufränkisch, Pinot Noir). The lighter, fruity red wines like Zweigelt and Solo Rosso are marketed with the narrow label, the stronger ones with the classic red-black label. The white wine varieties are mainly used to make noble sweet wines such as Trockenbeerenauslesen. 200,000 bottles of wine are produced annually. About 10% are exported to European countries and overseas.
