Family tradition since 1772

Nevertheless, Thomas Schuster would choose it again at any time. “I mainly wanted to learn the business aspect of the profession through my studies,” he explains. He first completed the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in International Business Relations and then the Master’s Degree Programme in International Wine Marketing in Eisenstadt. He studied part-time, which means: at the weekends.

His family has been producing wine in the Wagram wine-growing region north of the Danube since 1772. Thomas has always lent a hand at home. In his youth, he dreamed of becoming a train driver, but the freedom that comes with self-employment convinced him to take up winemaking.

His success proves him right. The Schuster winery was recently included in the ranks of Österreichische Traditionsweingüter, the renowned group of traditional wine estates of Austria. The group has 77 members throughout Austria, seven of which are from the Wagram region.

The flagship variety of the family, who produce wine on 13 hectares, is Roter Veltliner. “There are only a few winegrowers in Austria who have dedicated themselves to dealing with this variety so intensively. For us, Roter Veltliner makes up one third of our vineyard area.”

His studies have greatly benefited his work: “The International Wine Marketing degree programme at University of Applied Sciences Burgenland was important from a professional perspective - for example, in terms of topics such as sales or product design. And the network that I have gained from this degree programme also helps me a lot. We are still in contact as a group and meet regularly.”