The best wines from West Styria in Austria

With barely 500 hectares of vineyards, West Styria is the smallest wine district in the Styria region. West Styria is especially famous for a wine that is only made here: The Schilcher: A bone-dry rosé from the Blauer Wildbacher grape.

Crisply fresh, bone dry, young raspberries and currants; These are the associations that West Styria's showpiece usually evokes. In the past it was a farmland wine that was only drunk in the region. For outsiders a quite 'sour' rosé, it takes some getting used to.

But the excellently trained winegrowers from West Styria are not sitting still. They started experimenting to get the best out of their special Blauer Wildbacher grape. This varies from a delicious fruity aperitif to beautiful dessert wines.

The red wines of the Blauer Wildbacher are also gaining ground as region-specific terroir wines. The Schilcher has become more accessible and is gaining international popularity. The specific conditions in West Styria contribute to the recognizable wines that are made there. It is a region with steep mountains and deep valleys. Many vineyards are located more than 600 meters above sea level. Very photogenic and wonderfully idyllic.

West Styria is a magnet for wine tourists who love to follow the winding wine routes through fairytale, wine-drenched mountain villages such as Greisdorf, Gundersdorf, Wildbach and Wies. Everywhere along the route you will find small wine cellars where you can taste and buy local wines directly from the winemaker.