At the VieVinum in the Vienna Hofburg, Falstaff presented the eagerly awaited new winner of the title "Falstaff Winemaker of the Year" and at the same time presented the ratings of the best current wines from Austria and neighboring countries in the English-language wine guide "Ultimate Wine Guide Austria and Neighboring Countries 2026/27".
Thanks to his fine, light-footed wines, Christian Tschida from Illmitz is one of the hottest stocks in the Austrian wine portfolio, both nationally and internationally. On Saturday, he was delighted to receive the highest award in the local
wine industry: Tschida was officially named "Falstaff Winemaker of the Year 2026" at the VieVinum.
As the prototypical representative of a new generation of winemakers, Christian Tschida has won the hearts of a young generation of consumers around the globe with world-class wines and represents the fresh wind of domestic wine culture like no other.
- Peter Moser, Wine Editor-in-Chief Falstaff
Christian Tschida's dream was big: to produce emotional wines with character that are second to none and touch the heart - both inside and out. All the winemaker from Illmitz in Burgenland had to do was free his mind from predetermined concepts of winemaking.
If you have confidence in your product, you can be extreme and uncompromising. First and foremost, I have to be able to assume that something good and positive will happen when I let go of the reins.
- Christian Tschida
Over the years, he has found and refined his style. The profile of his wines is so sharpened and terroir-driven that hardly anyone orders a bottle from him by chance. The organic winegrower produces a balanced range of finesse-rich white, rosé and red wines. Names such as Laissez-faire, Non Tradition or Heaven on Earth are the program of the multi-layered and always light-footed wines, which are all aged for around a year in large wooden barrels.
In addition to the award ceremony, Falstaff hosted exclusive tastings in the winter garden of the Vienna Hofburg and presented the freshly printed "Ultimate Wine Guide Austria and Neighboring Countries 2026/27". The English-language guide contains ratings of the best wines from Austria and neighboring countries from the current vintage - as well as an overview of numerous older vintages - from around 165 wineries.
