Schilcherland, the Austrian wine region that calls to be discovered big time

Austrian wine

Grüner Veldliner – to be honest that’s about as far as my Austrian wine knowledge went. Vine culture in Austria actually dates back before Roman times (700 BC). Nowadays Austria produces 1% of the total world wine production (3 million hectoliter), characterized by mostly small farmers who produce for the local market, mainly white wines (65%). Local, small scale and white wines… OK, I’m in! Let’s go and taste some more Austrian wines…

Schilcher wine

Schilcherland Steiermark, an Austrian region just outside of Graz, the ‘Green heart of Austria’, is home of the Blauer Wildbaucher grape and the production of the Schilcher wine. A dry rose wine with a very own distinct character. As the locals say: you like it or you hate it!

Weingut Seiner

Weingut Seiner vlg. Kraxner in Greisdorf (St. Stefan ob Stainz) is a cute family run winery in the heart of the Schilcher wine. A traditional Austrian house in the mountains with beautiful pink roses. The family tradition of vine culture dates back to 1651. With 200 hectares Weingut Seiner is the smallest wine producer in the region. In Italy this would be called an agriturismo.

Wine tasting

In the afternoon we did a wine tasting in the Buschenschank (tasting room) with 4 different of wines of Weingut Seiner:

Schilcher (rose)
Weißburgunder (white)
Rivaner (white)
Morillon (white)

Father Hans explained the different wines. Son Robert and his children Philip and Sophia joined too. A real family business! My German and his English is limited, but tasting wine is a common language we both understand!

Taste is of course very personal. Although the Schilcher rose was definitely interesting, the Rivaner white wine is my favorite. The Morillion is a young chardonnay. At the little wine shop of Weingut Seiner you can buy as many bottles as you would like to take home. A tasty bargain!

The taste of the Rivaner wine reminded me of the ‘mühle’ (mill) wines of the Eifel region in west Germany, where we spend some great holidays in August last year. Both Schilcherland and Eifel are beautiful green areas ideal for walking and hiking, a co-incidence?

More wineries

Greisdorf actually has a so-called ‘Wine Street’ (Weinstraße). So if you are in the mood for more wine tasting while staying in the area, you may want to try one of these (in Greisdorf and surrounding villages):

Greisdorf is located in West Steiermark (Schilcherland). Other villages in this area with wineries include: Stainz, Deutschlandberg, Gundersdorf, Wldbach and Wies. The Südsteirische Weinstraße in South Steiermark is the location of the high level, fantastic Tement winery.

Where to eat

Weingut Seiner has its own a restaurant, but that was closed on Thursday, so Hans kindly arranged us to go to Gasthaus Jochum (15 min walk from Weingut Seiner). No Austrian trip is complete without a large, delicious schnitzel with baked potatoes!

When to go

September and October are the most popular months for tourism in this region. That’s when the harvest is done and celebrated. Spring is also a nice season with the flowers blooming. Weingut Seiner is also a good stop-over address after holidays in Croatia or Slovenia on the way back to Germany or The Netherlands. Or for a long weekend away. All good excuses to stay at Weingut Seiner and enjoy all the great things Schilcherland has to offer.

Where to sleep

Weingut Seiner vlg. Kraxner does not only offer great wines like the Schilcher wine, but fortunately also bed and breakfast! No drinking & driving please! We stayed in a very spacious room with good beds, bathroom, balcony and mountain-view. All in traditional Austrian style, as it should be.

Contact & booking

Room availability at Weingut Seiner can easily be checked via Booking. If you want a wine tasting, please mention this in your comments when making a reservation.