Originally there were only three farms in the surroundings of Neustift, one of which was the Pacherhof. This was on record long before Bishop Hartmann founded the abbey in 1142. Who knows, perhaps the Bishop enjoyed the food and white wine of the Pacherhof so much that he established the abbey there…
But what would the Pacher-Hof be without Gothic painters Michael and Friedrich Pacher? Friedrich Pacher, an associate of Michael Pacher (certainly related to him, if not his younger brother), was born here at the Pacherhof in 1440.The Katharine and Barbara Altar in the collegiate church in Neustift is also his work.
“Pacher” was the name of both farm and family until 1849; Andreas Pacher had four daughters, one of whom, Maria, married Josef Huber, the well-known winemaker from Elva, who brought both his name and the art of viniculture to the Pacherhof farm. Josef Huber and farmer Johann Huber from Elvas were famed as wine pioneers of the Eisack valley. After many journeys of discovery which took them as far as the Netherlands, they experimented with numerous varieties of grapes and concluded that Sylvaner, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer grapes were ideal for the soil and steep slopes of these lands. Josef Huber also planted the first Kerner grapes in the Eisack Valley. Although they went largely unnoticed at first, these grape varietals went on to become the preference of many and are now the flagships of the wine-growing industry in the Eisack valley.
In 1970, the grandson of the legendary wine pioneer, also Josef Huber, took over the farm. The Pacherhof was officially decreed an “Erbhof” in 1986, a title given to farms which have been in the hands of the same family as home and working farm for at least two hundred years.
And today, the farm is in the safe hands of the next generation: Josef’s son Andreas is now responsible for the vineyard. He cultivates grapes on the 8 hectares of land, presses them in his own cellar and markets them with the label ‘Weingut Pacherhof’.
Daughter Monika and her family run the Hotel Pacherhof with rooms and suites in the historic farm and a modern annexe as well as a restaurant for sociable celebrations, festivities and “Törggelen” chestnut and wine evenings.