Wooden barrels with granite & slate, natural wine in dialect: IMC alumni are reinventing the wine industry – in their very own way. We spoke to cooper Manuel Schön and winemaker Katharina Gessl about the importance of finding your niche and enjoying what you do.
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Invention, marketing, party!
BARAWARARIN – even saying the word out loud is a challenge for locals. Marketing a wine with this name internationally? “It will never work, many people told me at the beginning. I did it anyway, because it’s a story that fits me.” Katharina Gessl from the small village of Zellerndorf in the Weinviertel region is now one of Austria’s most sought-after winemakers of the new generation. No coincidence. “I’m someone who thinks strategically – during my studies, I always enjoyed developing strategies for wineries the most.”
Manuel Schön also has a clear strategy for his cooperage in Sitzenberg-Reidling. Simply carrying on as before was not enough for him as a fourth-generation cooper. “In my bachelor thesis at IMC, I wrote about the influence of using wood on wine. I continued developing this topic – and invented the hybrid barrel.” After many months of development, Schön cooperage presented the innovation at the beginning of 2026: a combination of a wooden barrel and a stone barrel. The bases are made either from granite or slate, while the barrel body is made from wood. “With this combination, winemakers can control the influence of wood much more flexibly and precisely. The bases can be reused and the wooden part can be replaced. This means it is a sustainable product that also makes economic sense for a business over the years.” Manuel Schön’s invention has already made international headlines – wineries from all over the world are knocking on the door of the Lower Austrian cooperage. “The next step is to customise the hybrid barrel for different wine regions – with Carrara marble, South Tyrolean granite, Portuguese slate and so on.”
“At IMC Krems, you can build an international network”
Katharina Gessl is also travelling internationally with her wines. Barawararin, Spompanadeln, Hawara – her wines are always with her. “That was my plan from the very beginning: to market them internationally. Because I love travelling myself.” Katharina Gessl and Manuel Schön still find the international aspect of the International Wine Business degree programme unique. “IMC Krems is extremely progressive; here, you can build an international network.” Both have also studied at Geisenheim and at BOKU University in Vienna: “But there is no comparable degree programme to International Wine Business. Krems is so great, also because there are exciting wine regions all around it. That is exactly what makes it special – at weekends, we would usually head out together and simply ask winemakers if we could spontaneously drop by. Something like that works in Austria – and that’s really cool.”
They are still in touch with other fellow students, too. “Some ended up in marketing, some at wineries. A few are doing something completely different professionally – but when we meet, we still inspire each other. At IMC, you don’t just take away the international perspective and the spirit of innovation, but also a network.”
The two agree that it has to be fun. “And wine is simply a great product that brings people together.” Katharina Gessl’s winery also regularly hosts special events – in 2026, for example, the Disco Schabernack. Probably anything but a classic wine tasting. Rethink wine. Find out more at www.katharinagessl.at and www.schoen-austria.com
