Alois Kracher Dead at 48

Austria's Wine Community Mourns Alois Kracher
The sweet wine pioneer has died at the age of 48, following a brief,
heavy illness


The Austrian wine community is mourning one of its greatest pioneers.
Alois Kracher died early in the morning of December 5th from
complications due to cancer. His death came unexpectedly to many in the
wine community. With Alois Kracher's passing, Austria has lost an
irreplaceable visionary, not only because his wines achieved so much
international success, but also because of his dedication and service to
Austrian wines around the world.

In 1986, "Luis" Kracher, who was educated as a chemical engineer, went
to work at the winery of his father, already known as a sweet wine
specialist. The young Kracher's reputation soared very quickly due to
his new style of sweet wine making, and within only a few years, he had
become an outstanding ambassador of the new Austrian quality wine
philosophy. Alois Kracher went on to garner innumerable awards and
accolades, including being named - a total of six times - "Winemaker of
the Year" by the internationally renowned Wine Magazine in London. In
addition to the national and international awards, his wines received
the highest scores by some of the world's most influential wine critics.
All of this success and appreciation had turned Alois Kracher into
Austrian wine's most globally-renowned luxury brand name.

Alois Kracher had worked tirelessly, not only for his own winery, but
for the reputation of Austrian wine overall. He opened the door to the
international markets for many of his fellow wine colleagues. His son,
Gerhard, with the support of the Kracher family, will carry on the work
of the great wine pioneer from Illmitz.


--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the novel bang BANG. ISBN 9781601640005