Originally there were only three farms in the surrounding of Neustift, one of which was the Pacherhof. The farm is referenced in documents dating to long before Bishop Hartmann founded the Neustift Abbey in 1142. The Pacherhof family bore the surname of Pacher until 1849 when one of Andreas Pacher’s four daughters, Maria, married the winemaker Josef Huber, who brought both his name and the art of viniculture to the Pacherhof farm.
Josef Huber and farmer Johann Huber from Elvas were the 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 choice of many and are now the flagships of the wine-growing industry in the Eisack valley. Click here for more information on Pacher-Hof’s vineyard in Neustift.
Today, the Pacherhof wine-growing estate is managed by Andreas Huber, great-grandson of Josef Huber.
