“Traunsecco” is the new sparkling wine world champion

Andy Hauser has already won twelve medals at nationwide awards with his sparkling wines from the “Traunsecco” brand. At the end of April, the Thalheim-based entrepreneur ventured into international territory for the first time and achieved a sensational debut victory at the 16th CiderWorld Expo in Frankfurt. In the main category “Sparkling, Mixed & Flavored Cider” it pushed competitors from Norway, Spain, Sweden and Germany into the places.

“We didn’t expect that at all,” says a happy Hauser, who earns his money with work and professional clothing. Despite annual growth rates of up to 20 percent, he continues to see sparkling wine production as a nature conservation project. Since 2012, he has been transforming pears and apples into high-quality sparkling wines together with his wife Eva and volunteers. “It is still a pro bono project that aims to ensure that farmers receive an appropriate price for their fruit and thereby preserve the cultural landscape with its diversity of orchards.”

Sorted by hand

The Cider Expo in Frankfurt is considered the world championship for cider manufacturers. This year, 75 manufacturers from 17 countries competed with 190 products. Hauser made it to first place with the Herzbluat variety, an extra-dry rosé sparkling wine with six percent alcohol content.

An important quality feature lies in careful production: sorting is traditionally done by hand. The “Traunsecco” team also does the cutting out of the fruit and the pressing process by hand. In a slow-pressing process, the maximum vitamins, nutrients, quality and taste are extracted from the pears and apples. For fermentation, the fruit juice matures in tanks and wooden barrels for around a year before it is refined into sparkling wine.

After his triumph at the Cider World Cup, Hauser is aiming for the international market: “I spoke to many fellow winemakers. Everyone says that an international award is extremely important in order to make it into the world market.”

Hauser will have his first opportunity in June. At the invitation of the Chamber of Commerce, he visited a large distribution trade fair in Singapore with ten selected winemakers: “The Asian market is particularly interesting for us because specialties like the ones we produce are very well received there.”