Patrick Eppacher will be taking over the reins of the Markets International team at Austrian Wine from 1 March.
© Caro Strasnik

From 1 March, Patrick Eppacher will be taking on responsibility for the export markets at the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (Austrian Wine). He takes over from Michael Tischler-Zimmermann, who has held this position for over seven years.

Patrick Eppacher, who hails from Upper Austria, will be taking over the reins of the Markets International team at Austrian Wine from 1 March. He will be responsible for the strategic planning and implementation of export initiatives led by Austria’s umbrella wine marketing organisation in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. To ensure a smooth handover, Patrick will shadow the current head of Markets International Michael Tischler-Zimmermann at Austrian Wine from 1 February, until Tischler-Zimmermann leaves at the end of February to join the ÖTW winegrowers’ association as CEO.

“I am delighted that Patrick Eppacher is going to be leading our Markets International team, bringing with him excellent skills and tremendous motivation. During his career, he has gained significant experience in the wine industry, as well as in international sales and marketing. He’s the perfect fit for our team,” confirms Chris Yorke, CEO of Austrian Wine. Yorke would also like to thank Eppacher’s predecessor: “Over the past seven and a half years, Michael Tischler-Zimmermann has done an outstanding job for Austrian Wine in our export markets. Working together over the last four years, we’ve managed to drive many new initiatives on the international stage. It goes without saying that we’ll continue working closely with Michael in the future.”

Eppacher’s career path has seen him heading up the Marketing department at the Austrian subsidiary of the long-established wine and spirits importer Eggers & Franke. Here, he was involved in developing the marketing strategy and was responsible for marketing and the product portfolio. Before this, he gained extensive international experience in sales and marketing in the food retail and hospitality industries. Eppacher’s family instilled in him a love of wine – and this love has been growing ever since. The exciting new role as head of International Markets at Austrian Wine unites two of his great passions: working in an international environment and Austrian wine.