Head training is the oldest method of vine training: each vine stands alone on a wooden stake, without a wire frame, and is tended by hand. In Rust, we are partially returning to this method with Furmint and Pinot Noir, planting very densely with up to 8,000 vines per hectare. The vines must root deeply, bear fewer grapes, and reach maturity at lower sugar levels. The result is wines with freshness, composure, and depth. You don’t taste patience as a single aroma, but as a structure.

What is head training?

With head training, each vine receives its own wooden support. The shoots are tied to it with hemp twine, which decomposes on its own over time. There are no continuous wires and no metal in the vineyard. The vine itself remains very low, similar to a rose bush, and the shoots grow freely upward.

For centuries, this was the common form of viticulture, including around Lake Neusiedl. Today, it has become rare because a head-trained vineyard can hardly be worked with machines. Almost everything is done by hand: pruning, tying, canopy management, and harvesting.

Why has head training almost disappeared?

After the Second World War, viticulture primarily needed to become cheaper. Many farms practiced both arable farming and viticulture and worked both with the same tractors. The vine rows were therefore spaced far apart, and the vines were trained high on wires. The so-called "Hochkultur" (high-trained system) developed by Lenz Moser saved labor and costs and prevailed throughout Austria. Incidentally, Lenz Moser was a good friend of Michael’s grandfather; the two were together as interns in Klosterneuburg in the 1920s.

The trend towards mechanization continues to this day. With head training, we are consciously taking the opposite path.

Why do we plant so densely?

Up to 8,000 vines per hectare is unusual in Austria. When vines stand close together, a healthy competition for water and nutrients arises. Each vine bears fewer grapes, and the roots must go deeper into the soil to find what they need. Down there, in the quartz, slate, and limestone, they extract what we later perceive as minerality in the glass.

Each vine is planted by hand. The roots of the young vine are placed in the planting hole in a star shape so that they can spread in all directions from the beginning and anchor deeply in the soil.

How does head training change the grapes?

The low vine is a compact, very vibrant unit. The paths for water and nutrients are short, and the vine benefits from the warmth radiated by the soil. The most important difference is seen at maturity: in head training, the grapes reach physiological ripeness at a lower sugar content. Seeds, skins, and aromas are ready before the sugar levels rise too high.

For the wine, this means moderate alcohol and a fresh but harmonious acidity. Especially for Furmint, which naturally brings a lot of acidity, this is a major advantage, and in hot years, it becomes increasingly important.

Why are old vines so valuable?

A young vine roots shallowly and reacts strongly to every weather change. Over the years, its root system grows deep and widely branched into the soil. As a result, old vines get through dry summers better, provide smaller and more consistent yields, and represent their site more accurately. They have become accustomed to their place.

Our Furmint story begins in 1984, when Michael’s grandfather and father brought the first cuttings from Tokaj to Rust. In the Eden vineyard, there is an original version of the variety whose genetic material is around 150 years old. For us, old vines are therefore not just a question of age, but also of origin: they carry a piece of history that cannot be replanted.

Can you really taste patience?

Not as a single aroma, but as a structure. Wines from deeply rooted, old vines usually seem calmer, denser, and longer. They are not loud; they have tension. Those who let such a wine lie for a few years realize how much is in it.

Or, as Sonja puts it: You simply get more of what you do in the vineyard into the bottle.

What does this mean for work in the vineyard?

More hours per vine, more paths through the vineyard, more attention for every single vine. Since 2008, we have avoided synthetic pesticides, and we have observed year after year how the vines adapt to this. In head training, this difference is particularly clear. Those who walk between the vines in midsummer feel immediately that these vineyards are more vital and have more life in them.

For Michael, head training is also a research project: he wants to know how nature reacts when there is no longer any tractor or metal in the vineyard. The answers come slowly, year after year. That, too, is patience.

Frequently asked questions about head training

What is head training?
A traditional form of vine training: each vine stands individually on a wooden stake, without a wire frame, and is worked by hand.

Why is the yield lower in head training?
The vines are planted densely and bear fewer grapes each. In return, the grapes are more concentrated and ripen at a moderate sugar content.

How densely do you plant?
Up to 8,000 vines per hectare. That is unusually dense for Austria.

Why do old vines cope better with drought?
Their roots reach deep into the soil and still find water even in dry summers.

Which grape varieties do you grow using head training?
Mainly Furmint and Pinot Noir. We also work with wire frames alongside them because we want to get to know the differences exactly.

You can read more about the variety in our article Furmint: The grape variety that returned to Rust.