Welcome to the home of Sant Thias AUSTRIAN Wines!

Sant Thias is a tribute to the Austrian winemakers Mathias Fritsch senior and Mathias Fritsch junior, who were playing a significant role in the history of the Frank family.

Our 6th generation ancestor Mathias Fritsch established our winery as a freed peasant following the uprising of 1848. His grandson Mathias Fritsch Jnr. married Cecilia Frank in 1882. Despite newly introduced diseases such as phylloxera and mildew, he managed to enlarge the winery and establish his wines in restaurants in Vienna. At that time, the autochthonous Veltliner vines began to conquer the vineyards. Mathias Fritsch uprooted old, non-grafted vineyards planted with a variety of vines (known as “Gemischter Satz”, i.e. mixed planting) to replace them with grafted Veltliner vines. With time the family planted Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc as well as Chardonnay and Riesling, which turned out to be a good idea. The soil and climate is perfect for these grape varieties. Good news: beginning with vintage 2021 our wines are vegan.

THE ancient family OF SANT THIAS

The first picture shows Mathias Fritsch junior, his wife Cecilia and their children. On the second picture it shows, how wine was transported from the village Herrnbaumgarten to Vienna. This picture was taken in front of our cellar in Herrnbaumgarten. It was just before a transport of three horse wagons started to drive to Vienna.

The family behind sant thias

Still the winery is run by the family: Together we work in the vineyards, together we create our wine. Together we celebrate and taste our wine. You can see on this picture Katrin Frank, Harald Frank, Else Frank, Daniela Frank, Johanna Frank and Adolf Frank. Three generations working together for best quality wine.

THE ORIGIN OF SANT THIAS

The grapes for Sant Thias grow on the gently rolling hills around Herrnbaumgarten, a small wine village in the northeast of Austria. This cool climate region produces fresh whites with fabulous aromas. The soils are mainly calcareous sediments and loess. The predominant variety is the autochthonous Grüner Veltliner. On some calcareous hills, Riesling grapes thrive particularly well. The native Zweigelt grape for red and rosé wines grows in the south of the village.