First wine filling station

Wine can now be filled up at Eisenberg

Fill up on wine, please! This is now possible at the Polczer winery in Eisenberg an der Pinka. This is Burgenland's first wine filling station.(Bild: Christian Schulter)

Burgenland has had its first wine filling station for a few days now. The Polczer family is also making a statement for sustainability.

The idea is not new, but it is a good one: in Austria, the first wine filling station was opened in Salzburg back in 2015, while in southern countries the system is well established among winegrowers and is extremely popular with wine-loving customers. The winegrowing couple Regine and Hans Polczer also became aware of the "filling station" model during their vacations in Italy and Croatia. They tinkered and tried things out to perfect the specially built petrol pump. Since a few days, wine can now be filled up for the first time in Burgenland, at the family farm in Eisenberg an der Pinka.

Customers can either fill their own bottles or double magnum bottles offered for sale on site with Blaufränkisch or the Gemischter Satz. The minimum dispensing quantity is three liters. This results in numerous advantages for the entrepreneur and the customers, says Polczer: "We don't need to print labels, fewer bottles and closures. That's why we can offer the wine at a lower price and thus also attract people to enjoy wine who may not want to or even be able to spend 8 euros on a bottle of quality wine," explains Regine Polczer. At the wine filling station, the high-quality wines can be tapped for 4 euros per liter. If stored well, they will keep for at least a week.

Sustainability is also very important to the couple. In 2021, the Polczer winery was also the first and only winery in Austria to become a member of the crowdfarming family by adopting vines.

Wine filling station open during the opening hours of farm-gate sales
The wine filling station is still located on the family's farm and can only be used during the opening hours of the winery. However, the long-term goal is to have a public wine filling station that operates automatically 24 hours a day: "But it will take a little time to develop."

"Eintunkt" at the Polczer winery: Martina Parker opened the wine filling station.(Bild: Schulter Christian)

The wine filling station was opened by author Martina Parker, who visited the Polczer family winery for research purposes and fell in love with the red wine pasta à la Regine Polczer. The recipe for this can be found in Parker's latest novel "Eintunkt". The three liters of red wine you need for this can now even be conveniently tapped yourself.