AUSTRIA’S STYRIA WINE REGION (STEIERMARK)
Südsteiermark landscapes
Photo source: Winekeller
Our wine travel experiences in Austria’s Styria wine region:
Austria’s Styrian wine region: Where is Styria?
Austria’s Styria wine region (or Steiermark in German), is located in the south-east corner of the country, with its southern border bordering Slovenia. In fact, the traditional centre for Styrian viticulture was in Slovenia, in the age of Imperial Austria, in Maribor (Marburg in German).
In terms of wine this part of beautiful southern Austria is a world away from Austria’s northern wine regions around the River Danube, with its southern border lying some 250kms away from the capital, Vienna. Styria is known today, not for Austria Grüner Veltliner or Riesling wines, but for its superb Austrian Sauvignon Blanc wines.
We can highly recommend a wine tour in Styria Austria, for the wines of course, but also for the incredibly beautiful scenery (Styria is known to be one of the most picturesque wine regions), with rolling green hills (it’s not known for being the Austrian Tuscany for nothing), the wonderful traditional hospitality and gastronomy and the relaxed atmosphere and rural, peaceful way of life.
Steep Steiermark vineyards
Source: Winekeller
Styria wine - Steiermark wines
Styria may represent only a small portion of Austrian vineyards and less than 10% of Austrian wine production, but its reputation for dry, intense, thrilling Austrian white wines is unmatched. The Styria wine region is a dynamic wine region which over the last 30 years has made a significant shift away from sweeter, easy-drinking wines to world-class dry white wines and is today famous for Sauvignon Blanc wines. In fact, the top wine producers in this Austrian wine region are making some of the best and most ageworthy Sauvignon Blancs in the world.
Sauvignon Blanc comprises some 20% of the region’s vineyards and although this grape variety gets most of the attention in Styria, other varieties thrive here too, including the popular regional variety Welschriesling and the aromatic Gelber Muskateller. For those who prefer a more fuller-bodied white wine, the white Pinot family grape varieties flourish here too, including Chardonnay (locally known as Morillon), Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.
As mentioned earlier, Styria is known for its beautiful green scenery, but of course there is a reason for this! Styria is one of the wettest wine regions in the world and the rain can be a challenge for wine growers.
Vineyards on the Austrian/Slovenian border
Source: Winekeller
Map of Styria (source Austrian Wines)
Styria comprises 3 official wine regions:
Südsteiermark (South Styria) - here Sauvignon Blanc dominates and there is the greatest concentration of respected wine producers. In addition to the challenge posed by the rainfall, the extremely steep gradient of a lot of the vineyards makes life difficult for winegrowers here too.
Vulkanland Steiermark - here the ‘Traminer’ grape variety is a speciality, grown in the volcanic soils.
Weststeiermark (West Styria) - a small wine region where the pink ‘Schilcher’ wine is the star, made from the rare Blauer Wildbacher grape.
All 3 wine regions have had their own DAC wine status since 2018.
The Burgundy ‘system of origin’:
The Styria wine region follows the Burgundy system of origin, a deliberate policy to focus on the quality nature of the Styria wines. The DAC Styrian wines are labelled as ‘regional wines’ (Gebietsweine), ‘village wines’ (Ortsweine) and ‘single vineyard wines’ (Riedenweine).
Steierische Terroir & Klassikweingüter (STK) classification:
Twelve of the region’s most prominent growers (mostly from Südsteiermark), under the name Steierische Terroir & Klassik (STK), have classified their best vineyards as ‘premier cru’ or ‘grand cru’ using the abbreviations ‘1-STK’ and ‘G-STK’ - placing a further emphasis on wine quality. The STK is a private association whose strict member guidelines and rigorous approach to classification have helped define and refine the region’s Sauvignon Blanc style, advocating vineyard classifications as a way of highlighting the exceptional terroir of an area.
The list of the twelve STK member wineries who have committed to this region specific culture and to producing outstanding wines, can be found here.
Styrian wines are 100% handcrafted and all grapes are 100% harvested by hand - a legal requirement of the three Styrian DACs.
The founding STK wineries in Steiermark
STK member wines
Top Steiermark wines from top vineyards
Visiting Styria Austria - travel guide and useful information
As mentioned earlier, we believe Styria - or Steiermark - is one of the best places to visit in Austria.
Austria’s second largest state and known as the "Green Heart of Austria," Styria has the highest forest coverage in the country, along with seven natural parks and one national park. However its landscapes are diverse, from the mountainous north, through the urban centre with the capital city of Graz, to the gently rolling hills of the south with its vineyards.
How to get to Styria?
The state capital, Graz has an international airport, but there is a greater and more direct choice of flights to Vienna international airport. You can travel from Vienna to Graz by train (2 hours, 45 minutes) or by car (approximately 200kms). For more advice see here.
Where to stay in Styria
There’s a great variety of accommodation in Styria to choose from - see here.
Graz – Styria’s capital
Graz is Austria’s second-largest city. The well-preserved historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and many of the buildings date back to the Middle Ages. Graz is also a modern, vibrant city with a large student population and a thriving cultural and restaurant scene.
Austria off the beaten track
The mountains, forests, lakes, and rivers invite the visitor to be active and offer a rich variety of leisure opportunities. With fewer tourists and its mild climate, Styria is the perfect destination to get off the beaten track and explore something new!
For lovers of the great outdoors, Styria is the ultimate paradise, with a great range of outdoor activities to choose from - Hiking for all levels of experience and fitness (the notable highlight is the Dachstein massif, the highest mountain range in Styria, peeking at 2,995 m (9826 ft); Cycling, bathing - and there are more than 20 golf courses in Styria!
Hiking in Steiermark
Enjoying the wellness facilities!
Vinoble Cosmetics
Health and wellness
With its healing thermal waters, Styria has become one of Austria's top health and wellness destinations. There are eleven thermal spas in the region and many of the hotels offer health and wellness facilities. There are also lots of locally made ‘wellness’ treatment products here made from grapes, pumpkin seeds and apples!
A great example of this is ‘Vinoble Cosmetics’which handcrafts its products using active ingredients derived from grapes, at its factory in Southern Styria. We enjoyed using these products in our hotel, so much so we went to the factory and bought some to take home!
Wine and culinary destination - Styrian cuisine
As well as its diverse landscapes, Styria is known for its agricultural and culinary diversity and its other nickname is “Austria’s delicatessen shop”. In addition to its wines, Styria is known for meat or ham specialities, fresh fish, juicy Styrian apples and Styria’s “green gold” – pumpkin seed oil or Kürbiskernöl - protected by the EU as the pumpkin seed oil’s place of origin since 1996.
You can dine out in top restaurants, but also local wine taverns (Buschenschanken), where you’ll enjoy fantastic local food and wine at excellent prices.
Styrian wine roads
To fully experience the wine scene in Styria you can follow 8 separate wine routes - or ‘weinstrasse’ - which will advise on the wineries to visit, the wine taverns to dine in and the landmarks not to miss!
Whatever you choose to do in Styria you can be assured of warm hospitality and friendliness throughout the region.
For more information visit the Steiermark website and Austria website.
Enjoying the delicious food in Steiermark
Typical 'Buschenschank' wine tavern
Following the wine routes
Weingut Tement is one of Austria’s a top wine producers, located in Southern Austria, in the South Styria - or Südsteiermark - wine region - right on the border with Slovenia. Not only do they produce some excellent wines, they farm some of the best ‘Grand Cru’ vineyards and do it all via totally organic and biodynamic processes…