Skylines 02|14

ÖSTERREICH
STEIERMARK
Verkostungsraum des Weinguts
Regele; Innovatives in der
Buschenschank des Weinguts Polz.
Olfactory tests in the tasting room at
the Regele Vineyard; innovative dishes
at the wine tavern of the Polz Vineyard.
INFO
tees constantly changing, and constantly breathtaking,
views with every twist and turn the wine route
takes. It’s not just that the view extends far away,
across the untroubled border to Slovenia, however. It
also has a very human touch. Look around, and your
eye will regularly by caught by the startling modern
architecture on the farms nestling in between the hills.
There’s the glass cube at Weingut Maitz winery, the
new extension constructed out of light wood at
Weinidylle Dreisiebner, a winery, guesthouses and
much more, and the impressive structure jutting out
from the hilltop that marks the Weingut Schilhan
winery out from the hillsides around it. They are purist
spaces, perpetuating the outstanding tradition of
daring architecture associated with the unlikely
backdrop of the vineyards of southern Styria. Around
the turn of the millenium, the spectacular structures of
vineyards such as Erich & Walter Polz, and Tement,
Weinverkostung. | Wine tasting.
Steirische Terroir- und Klassikweingüter Jahrgangspräsentation mit drei hochkarätigen Gastwinzern aus
dem Burgund. 10. Mai 2014, Weingut Erwin Sabathi, Anmeldung auf: ///
Presentation of the season’s new wines by Steirische Terroir- und Klassikweingüter member vineyards, with
three top-level guest winegrowers from Burgundy also in attendance.
10 May 2014, Weingut Erwin Sabathi winery, application at:
www.stk-wein.at
Tischlein deck dich im Weingarten. | Tischlein deck dich im Weingarten.
Mitten im Weingarten wird an einer langen Tafel ein wunderbares 5-Gänge-Menü mit hochkarätiger
Weinbegleitung aufgetragen. 21. Juni 2014, Anmeldung unter + 43 676 338 35 40, die@suedsteirischeweinstrasse.at
/// A wonderful 5-course menu served at a long table at the heart of the vineyard,
accompanied, of course, by the very best wines.
21 June 2014; to apply, please call + 43 (0) 676 338 35 40 or go to die@suedsteirischeweinstrasse.at
Weinseminar am Gut Moser. | Wine seminar at Gut Moser vineyard.
Für interessierte Laien, 4. April, Anmeldung auf: /// For interested laypeople. 4 April, application at:
www.weingut-moser.at
Tourismusverband „Die Südsteirische Weinstraße“ |
‘Die Südsteirische Weinstraße’ tourism association
T +43 3454 - 707 01 0.
www.suedsteirischeweinstrasse.at
40 | skylines 02/2014
began to provide a blueprint for a fertile, almost
vine-like entanglement of exclusive wine and
contemporary architecture, a legacy continued by
numerous successful winegrowers ever since.
The wines of 2013 have spent the winter months
in the barrels and steel tanks of the vineyards, and
are now ready to be bottled. The vinotheque at
Weingut Polz winery, with its refreshing avant-garde
facade made not from bricks but from two-litre wine
bottles, is overflowing with guests once again. Those
guests will have to wait a little longer, until 1 May,
for the wines harvested from the vines in the very
best locations, however, as these spend more time in
the vat. Polz recently become one of just ten
vineyards in the region committed to expanding the
space it devotes to terroir and classic wines of the
very highest quality, and as a result, its bottles bear
the abbreviation ‘STK’, or ‘Steirische Terroir- und
Klassikweingüter’.
This exclusive community of southern Styria’s elite
winegrowers was recently joined by Wolfgang Maitz,
Hannes Sabathi and Erwin Sabathi. Also active
amongst this new generation of ambitious young
winegrowers, blessed with the best training and
international experience, are pioneers such as Gross
and Tement, ensuring that varieties such as Sauvignon
Blanc, Morillon (as Chardonnay is known in these
parts) and Gelber Muskateller from southern Styria
continue to measure up to the finest wines in the
world.
Unsurprisingly, the complex aromas of the Obegg
Morillon 2007 cultivated by Erich & Walter Polz and
the Sauvignon Blanc Vinothek Reserve 2007 of
Tement (both of which recently received a handsome
19 points from Gault Millau) dance across the palate
particularly vividly when enjoyed while looking out
across the vineyard, where next year’s crop is already
busily growing. Occasionally, one may even partake
in such pleasures a little too freely, in which case one
phone call is sufficient to bring out the local
‘winemobile’ provided by the southern Styrian wine
route, to drive you back to one of the numerous
guesthouses hidden away amongst the vineyards.
The Winzarei is a good example: these two old stone
buildings, located at the highest point of the Zieregg
vineyard of the Weingut Tement winery, were
brought back to life as classy guest apartments in
May last year, after spending thirty years as storage
space. When spending time in amongst their light
colours, airy country house style and spring-like
warmth wafting up from the surrounding vineyard,
it is easy to see why this beautiful stretch of land is
so often referred to as the ‘Styrian Tuscany’. q
FOTOS: EVELYN ROIS & BRUNO STUBENRAUCH