West-Steiermark

One of the three specific wine-growing regions in the Austrian province or generic wine-growing region of Styria. The elongated region borders Slovenia to the south. Western Styria is actually located in the south-west of Styria; large parts of Upper Styria lie further west than Western Styria.

History

The name derives from the time of the Habsburg monarchy, when Eastern and Western Styria together formed Central Styria of the Duchy of Styria, while today's Slovenian Lower Styria was the mixed German-Slovenian region with the capital Maribor an der Drau (Maribor). Viticulture can be traced back to the fourth century BC, as the Illyrians, Celts and later the Romans already cultivated vines here. Viticulture on the Ligistberg was first mentioned in a document in 1235.

Climate & soil

The location at the foothills of the Koralpe and the Reinischkogel protects against wind and causes strong warming during the day. The vineyards on gneiss and weathered slate soils stretch southwards in a narrow band between 420 and 600 metres above sea level to the Slovenian border. Steep slopes and almost gorge-like valleys characterise the landscape. The climate is Illyrian with southern European-Mediterranean influences and relatively high rainfall.

Wine-growing communities

The wine-growing communities are Bad Gams, Deutschlandsberg (Burgegg vineyard), Eibiswald, Groß St. Florian, Ligist, Marhof, Schwanberg, the Schilcher centre of Stainz ( Engelweingarten vineyard), Stallhofen, St. Stefan ob Stanz, Gundersdorf, Greisdorf and Wies (Lamberg vineyard). The "Schilcher Wine Route" begins in Ligist and ends in Eibiswald. Characteristic are the "Kellerstöckln", which consist only of a pressing room with a wine cellar below.

Schilcher Wine

Western Styria is the classic region for Schilcher wine, which has been produced for centuries from the indigenous Blauer Wildbacher variety, which is grown almost exclusively in Styria and covers around two thirds of the vineyards here. The area includes the entire wine-growing region of Western Styria and, as a novelty, the cadastral municipality of Obergreith (municipality of Oberhaag in the district of Leibnitz) in the wine-growing region of Southern Styria.

Grape variety index

In 2022, the vineyards covered a total of 641 hectares of vines. Compared to 2016 with 546 hectares, this was an increase of 93 hectares (17%). White wine varieties account for 218 hectares (34%) and red wine varieties for 423 hectares (66%). Among the red wine varieties, the Styrian speciality Blauer Wildbacher dominates with almost two thirds of the total area, followed by Zweigelt and Blauer Burgunder. The white wine varieties are dominated by Pinot Blanc, followed by Sauvignon Blanc and Welschriesling. There were no major changes in the ranking.

DAC system

The Weststeiermark DAC area comprises the political districts of Graz, Graz-Umgebung, Deutschlandsberg and Voitsberg. The cross-local wine-growing communities are Deutschlandsberg, Eibiswald, Ligist and Stainz. The leading varieties are the red wine variety Blauer Wildbacher (vinified as Schilcher) and the white wine variety Sauvignon Blanc.

The origin-orientated DAC system was introduced in Styria in 2018. All other quality wines must be marketed with the origin Styria, the regional wines under the wine-growing region designation Steirerland. In contrast to the provinces of Burgenland and Lower Austria (where the individual regions were realised one after the other), an overall concept was developed for all three specific wine-growing regions. There is a three-level pyramid of origin with the levels of regional wine, local wine and Riedenwein. The DAC pyramid:

Styrian varietal diversity is taken into account in different ways (see the varieties in the diagram above). In the case of regional wines, it is retained, while in the case of local wines and in some cases also Riedenwein, local leading varieties have been defined differently for each wine-growing region. Regional wines may be marketed from 1 March, single vineyard wines and local wines from 1 May of the year following the harvest.

An exception is made for wines from the Welschriesling and Schilcher Klassik varieties (only in Western Styria), which may be marketed as regional wines from 1 December of the harvest year and as local wines from 1 February of the year following the harvest. There is also an exception for the Steirischer Junker brand wine created by the Wein Steiermark association, which is traditionally presented at the beginning of November.

Producers

Well-known wineries include Domäne Müller, Erzherzog Johann Weine, Friedrich Christian, Jöbstl Johannes, Langmann, Lazarus, Oswald Eduard, Reiterer Christian, Resch-Longus, Strohmeier and Weinhof Florian.

Deutschlandsberg: © ÖWM - Armin Faber
Map and DAC pyramid: © ÖWM
Styrian Junker: Toni Muhr