Steiermark

Steiermark, or Styria in English, is the mountainous south east of the country, producing relatively little but often extremely exciting varietals – notably aromatic Sauvignon Blanc and some variable Chardonnay sometimes labelled Morillon. The wines are less characteristically Austrian and more closely related to those piercing grape essences made in neighbouring Slovenia, or even Friuli in north-east Italy. It is officially divided into south, south-east and west (Süd-, Südost-, and Weststeiermark respectively). The most important of these in terms of quantity is Südsteiermark (southern Styria) where on relatively high-altitude vineyards round Liebnitz, producers such as Alois Gross, Reinhold Polz, Sattlerhof and, particularly, Tement make pure, mainly white varietals. Weststeiermark’s speciality is the high-acid pink Schilcher, made from the local Blauer Wildbacher grape, and Traminer does especially well in Südoststeiermark.