After 40 years of success

Alois Gölles passes the vinegar on to his son

Alois Gölles is retiring next year.(Bild: Manufaktur Gölles)

40 years after the big breakthrough, the time has come: Alois Gölles, the face behind the famous Styrian apple-balsamic vinegar, is slowly retiring from the business. His son David will soon take over the business. A look back at the sweet and sour success.

"I grew up with the fruit," says the now 64-year-old Alois Gölles. He remembers his parents' orchard, the craft he learned from his father - and his apprenticeship in Klosterneuburg. "I would have liked to make wine too, but we only had fruit at home."

Alois Gölles calls his apple balsamic vinegar his "flagship product".(Bild: Manufaktur Gölles)

His curiosity alone led him to great success: "The classic aceto balsamico was my idol," he says. His revolutionary idea: "Let's try boiling it down from apple cider vinegar," Gölles said to himself. After countless attempts, the legendary sweet and sour apple balsamic vinegar was created in 1984 - a world first that is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

I would have liked to make wine too, but we only had fruit at home. In hindsight, I'm glad I stuck to picking fruit.

Alois Gölles, steirischer Essigproduzent

Ten years in oak barrels
"In this anniversary year, I look back and can say: none of it was planned or foreseeable, it was all hard work," says Gölles. Since 1990, he has been able to offer his "flagship" to customers every year without interruption. It takes a full ten years for the vinegar to mature in one of the 1400 oak barrels on the farm in Riegersburg in south-eastern Styria. This year was also a "very good year" for the harvest. "There was frost damage at lower altitudes, but we can be satisfied," says Gölles.

There are 1400 oak barrels filled with vinegar at the farm in Riegersburg.(Bild: Manufaktur Gölles)

Is he a salad tiger? "We eat salad every day, often as a separate course," says Gölles. He has plenty of dressings to choose from, as the range has expanded considerably over time: from pear vinegar to raspberry vinegar and apricot vinegar, as well as spirits such as whiskey, gin and rum. This is where his son David Gölles comes in, who is known for his spirits made from local fruit.

He will soon be following in his father's footsteps. "I will retire at the end of March next year, when I will be 65," says Alois Gölles. He doesn't find it difficult to say goodbye - "the younger generation needs a clear head to be able to work". However, the well-known bestsellers will continue to exist and the handover process will be a smooth one. Their current project: old fruit varieties are being replanted and will be planted on the 50-hectare farm next year.