About us
Goal-oriented with a sense of modernity and a return to real values, joy, enthusiasm, celebration, cohesion, extended family – all of this characterizes the Dockner family.
Each individual is part of this puzzle and contributes their talents – and this is already in the fourth generation as a family winery.
Tom Dockner Winery
f a m i l y b u i n e s s w i t h a s i o n f o r e x c e l l e n t w i n e
Tom Dockner Winery
Our team
Tom Dockner
The master of the vineyard and cellar, but can also be found in the office and in sales.
Silke Dockner
In addition to her family, the trained viticultural worker primarily takes care of the office and sales.
Gerhard and Elfriede Dockner
They haven’t yet retired from the winery in terms of work and help out wherever they’re needed. Gerhard actively supports Tom in the vineyard and with deliveries, Elfriede supports Silke in everyday family life.
Tom Dockner Winery
Sustainability
Tradition is the look of the Dockners at the values that are important for them: the land is their capital. That’s why they produce sustainably and are in the middle of converting to organic farming.
Sustainable Austria is a seal of quality from the Austrian Wine Growers Association, which is checked annually. Sustainability is also linked to moderate consumption of alcohol, hence the reference to www.wineinmoderation.eu.
Tom Dockner Winery
Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW)
We are 77 like-minded winegrowers who strive to express the characteristics of our region and soils, our climate, our varieties and our cellars in our wines.
The ÖTW is an association founded in 1991 and based in Krems an der Donau. According to its founding charter, its primary aim is to classify Austria’s vineyards. This is intended as an orientation aid in the multitude of designations of origin.
Weingut Tom Dockner
Milestones
- The Prehistory (1443 – 1848)
Theyern 4 was owned by the Cathedral Chapter of Göttweig for a long time. The unfree farmers had to work for the Cathedral Chapter and farmed for self-sufficiency. In addition to the slave labor for the monastery, a lease had to be paid to the monastery. The lease amounted to half a sheep of grain for the small farm when it was first mentioned in 1443. The system was called “robot (for slavework) and tithe”.
The chronicle of the farm reads like a thriller – even the Turks raged in Theyern and burned houses. The owners changed frequently, often the farm was sold, less inherited.
The French Revolution spread to Austria. On March 13, large demonstrations against Ferdinand I and Prince Metternich took place in Vienna. Citizens, professional representatives and students demanded the abolition of censorship, an elected parliament and a written constitution. State Chancellor Metternich resigned on the evening of March 13 and left Vienna. Emperor Ferdinand I granted freedom of the press and promised a constitution. Such was also issued in April by the imperial government. After further uproars in May, the Reichstag was elected and opened on July 22 by Archduke Johann in Vienna. Only four days later, the young Silesian deputy Hans Kudlich submitted the motion for the abolition of the farmer’s subservience relationship and thus laid the foundation for the “farmer’s liberation” of Robot and Tithe.That was also the time when the Cathedral Chapter of Göttweig had to withdraw from Theyern 4. - 1811 – 1911
Rarely has the farm been owned by one family for long, until Franz Germüller bought the farm in 1811. The farm remained in the family for almost 100 years until it was sold to Josef Pickl in 1906. - Josef Dockner – how it all started (1912-1923)
On March 4th, 1912, Josef Dockner and his wife Josefa bought the Theyern 4 farm from Franz Pickl.
At that time, the farm had around 5 hectares of land and was run as a mixed farm. At that time, wine was not yet an issue in the Dockner household, rather self-sufficiency with farming, cows, pigs, chickens and ducks.
The two have been married since 1890, their son Johann was born in 1898. Johann is drafted into the military towards the end of World War I and dies on the battlefield. In 1922 his father Josef died of a stomach hemorrhage on October 25th. His wife Josefa ran the small property for just another year, until she handed over the farm to Josef Dockner’s nephew on October 23, 1923. His name was Johann, like her son. - Johann and Christine Dockner – the cornerstone for the wine has been laid (1923-1956)
Johann, Josef’s nephew, is 25 years old when his widow Christine transfers the farm to him. A year later he married his Christine, with whom he had 8 children, four of whom died in infancy. They had a little bit of everything: ducks, geese, pigs and farming. Johann switched more and more to home slaughter and sold the meat directly to private customers. Then follows the chapter National Socialism: In 1933 the Reichserbhofgesetz of the 3rd Reich was passed. It served to protect the farms from “over-indebtedness and fragmentation in the inheritance” and was part of the “blood and soil ideology of the National Socialists”. An inherited farm could not be divided among several heirs in the case of inheritance. The farm Theyern 4 received the title “Erbhof” in 1938 and was entered in the “Erbhöferolle Inzersdorf”. At the beginning of the 1930s, a good third of the population still worked in agriculture. In the early 1930s, the agrarian sector played a special role in consolidating the power of the NSDAP. The priority was food security for the population. For this reason too, the peasants and their farmhands were not conscripted into military service. In 1939 World War II began. In the middle of the Second World War, Johann bought a vineyard on the Ried Hochschopf, two terraces in stock culture and began to press wine. Johann originally comes from Stratzdorf, grew up on a mixed farm with viticulture and took his love for wine with him from there. There is no other explanation for the fact that he made it possible for all three sons – Johann, Josef and Gerhard – to attend the wine-growing school in Krems. In doing so, he laid the actual foundation for today’s winery. By the way, electricity was not introduced to Theyern until after the Second World War. - Gerhard and Josefine Dockner – Farmer becomes Innkeeper (1956-1981)
Gerhard was 24 years old when he married his wife Josefine in 1956. When they get married, they are given his parents’ farm. Gerhard graduated from the viticulture school in Krems. In their era, the farm was expanded by a total of 6 hectares – mainly the arable land was expanded, but also vineyards and orchards were added. The farm was still a mixed farm, but the focus was slowly shifted towards wine in addition to pig fattening. Gerhard started bottling and mainly sells his wine to private costumers. The first tractor was bought in 1956 – from this point mechanization in agriculture took its course. Gerhard Senior also made it possible for his son Gerhard Junior to attend the agricultural college in Tulln with a focus on arable farming and viticulture. After completing his training in 1978, Gerhard Junior did his master class, which he successfully completed in 1980. In 1975 the old tree press was replaced by a modern spindle press. In 1978 Gerhard and Josefine took over an inn with a small farm in Himberg from an uncle. After Gerhard Junior married his Elfriede in 1981, Gerhard and Josefine handed over the farm to the next generation and finally moved to the Waldviertel, where they also worked as innkeepers from then on. - Gerhard and Elfriede Dockner – Focus on viticulture and fruit growing (1981-2007)
When Gerhard and Elfriede Dockner married, they also received the farm from Gerhard’s parents. Gerhard also graduated from the agricultural school in Tulln and slowly shifted his focus towards viticulture and fruit growing. In 1985 they built a vaulted cellar, a wine press house and a residential building at the current location and finally in 1986 a tasting area and storage rooms. In 1990 they ended the pig fattening because farm sales of wine were beginning to prosper and the smell of pig and wine did not go together so well. In addition to the production of quality wine, which had to be particularly dry after the wine scandal in 1985, the focus was on apricots, cherries, pears and apples, both as food and on juice and spirits. In the 1990s, the premises were successively expanded. In 1982 their son Thomas was born and in 1985 their daughter Christina. In the year 2000 – Tom had already completed the viticulture school in Krems – Gerhard quit farming, leased his farmland and concentrated exclusively on viticulture and fruit growing. In November 2007, shortly after the harvest, Gerhard and Elfriede handed over the farm to Thomas and continued to run the business together with their son. - Business Partnership Gerhard & Elfriede and Tom & Silke Dockner (2007-2019)
Tom continues his father’s quality philosophy. Not trends, but tradition sets the tone. Tom thinks of tradition in a modern way: as little intervention as necessary, as much nature as possible. The vineyards were continuously expanded from the original 7 hectares and the 4 hectares of orchards were taken back. In 2010, Tom successfully completed his training as a wine and cellar master. From 2008 to 2010 it was built again. The entire storage area was modernized, an office set up, a new tasting area and a company kitchen built. His wife Silke, to whom he has been married since 2015, is now at Tom’s side. Silke previously worked in the medical sector, with her love for Tom she also discovered the love for viticulture and completed the training as a viticulture worker. Gerhard retired at the end of 2017 and left the business partnership, Silke took his place in the business partnership from 2018.In 2018 the cellar finally became too small and the construction of a new cellar was unavoidable. The new building was used for the first time in 2019, and the project, including the renovation of the old building, was finally completed in 2021. - Tom & Silke Dockner 2019
Elfriede retired in November 2019 and thus withdrew from the partnership. From this point on, Tom and Silke run the winery together.The focus of their activities are the soil and microclimate of the Traisental. The main grape varieties remain Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, Pinot Noir and Gewürztraminer are the sweethearts, Zweigelt and the White Field Blend are required. In the new cellar the modern thinking rules: cleanliness and exact vinification are a matter of course, aromatic yeasts and cool fermented wines are frowned upon, spice, depth of aroma and minerality are desired.
What happened until now:
– Certification of sustainable production
– Admission to the Austrian Traditionsweingüter
What else will happen:
– Conversion to organic production
1443 – 1811
The prehistory
Theyern 4 was long owned by the estate administration of Göttweig Abbey. The unfree farmers had to work for the monastery and farmed for self-sufficiency.
1811 – 1911
The time before Dockner
The farm was rarely owned by one family for a long time, until Franz Germüller bought the farm in 1811. The farm remained in the family for almost 100 years until it was sold to Josef Pickl in 1906.
1912 – 1923
Josef Dockner
At the time, the farm had around 5 hectares of land and was run as a mixed farm. Wine was not yet an issue in the Dockner household at that time, but rather self-sufficiency with arable farming, cows, pigs, chickens and ducks.
1923 - 1956
Johann and Christine Dockner
In the middle of the Second World War, Johann bought a vineyard on Ried Hochschopf, two terraces in stock culture, and began to press wine.
1956 - 1981
Gerhard and Josefine Dockner
Although the farm was still a mixed operation, the focus was slowly shifted towards wine in addition to pig fattening.
1981 - 2007
Gerhard and Elfriede Dockner
The focus slowly shifted towards wine and fruit growing. A vaulted cellar, a press house, a tasting room and storage rooms were built at the current location.
2007 - 2019
Business Partnership Gerhard & Elfriede and Tom & Silke Dockner
Tom continues his father’s idea of quality. Tradition, not fashion, sets the tone. Tom thinks tradition in a modern way: as little intervention as necessary, as much nature as possible.
since 2019
Tom and Silke Dockner
The soil and microclimate of the Traisental are at the heart of their work. Modern thinking is applied in the new cellar, cleanliness and precise vinification are a matter of course, aromatic yeasts and cool-fermented wines are frowned upon, spice, depth of aroma and minerality are desired.
Address
Traminerweg 3
A-3134 Theyern
Phone
+43 664 544 17 79
+43 676 649 13 82
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