The grape variety Sankt Laurent exists since 300-400 years. Analyses have shown that the St. Laurent is a crossing between Pinot Noir and an unknown grape variety. The oldest report goes back until 1850 and originates from the Alsace. The grape was brought to Germany in 1870 by Economist Bronner. Historical archives report that it was the monastery Stift Klosterneuburg responsible for the arrival and extension of the St. Laurent grape in Austria.
The first documentary report on the St. Laurent at the wine estate Stift Klosterneuburg was in 1893! In the vineyards Ôyoung gentlemenÕ and Ôold vine gardenÕ, located in Vienna, the St. Laurenzer was planted (on Riparis as Phylloxera-resistant rootstock). In 1960, the St. Laurent vines where newly planted in the vineyard ÔSteinfeldÕ (stony fields) in Tattendorf. Here loamy soils, rich in warmth-preserving stones, stretch out into the Central European Plain whose dry, hot summers allowing the grapes to develop their full potential.
Nowadays, the Stift Klosterneuburg, with its almost 60 ha St. Laurent in Tattendorf, is the biggest St. Laurent producing wine growing estate in the world.
