Christof Hoepler

Christof studied Business Administration at Vienna University intent on pursuing a career in banking. His astute business sense alerted him to the fact that working in his father’s wine business during his studies enhanced his financial and, naturally, his social quality of life no end! During his first university vacation in 1997 he travelled to wine fairs in the USA, Panama and Italy. By the end of the summer he had experienced the challenges and excitement of his first harvest. Before he knew it he was hooked, dreams of banking a distant memory. The next summer breaks were filled with internships at wineries in Sonoma, Carmernet, Leeuwin Estate, Margaret River and Graf Hardegg, Austria. Christof was keen to learn as much about different wine making techniques across the world. An OIV wine marketing programme at UC Davies and visits to the wine regions of South Africa helped round of his training. 15 years on he owns and runs Hoepler a 47 hectare estate on the slopes of the Leitaberg Hills on the shores of the Lake Neusiedl in Austria. This unique microclimate enables Hoepler to make white, red and dessert wines. A signature Hoepler wine is delicate, elegant and subtle sharing similarities with wines from the Burgundy region. His passion for developing the authentic character of the grape is present in each and every bottle.