Natural wine from Styria: from the beginnings to today
Since the beginning of the 2000s, natural wines have been produced in the approx. 7000 hectare wine region of Styria, which have gained great popularity in recent years, especially internationally. Winegrowers such as Werlitsch, Muster, Tauss, Strohmeier and Karl Schnabel were early advocates of sustainable viticulture and are thus natural wine pioneers in this field - first and foremost the value community "Schmecke das Leben" and Otto and Beate Knaus, who were founding members of Bio Steiermark.
Styrian natural wines are known for their aroma and juiciness, for their spiciness and their incomparable minerality. They are wines that are extremely determined by their origin, by the temperate, low-wind, high-rainfall overall climate that allows for any number of microclimates. The region is characterised by weathered volcanic rock soils, soils of solid rock such as slate and gneiss, soils on limestone, on gravel and conglomerate, on sand and sandstone and the well-known Opok.
The best-known grape varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Muskateller, Welschriesling and for some years now, the potential of red grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt has also been recognised.