Sparkling wine from Südsteiermark matures in the cellar of Gut Pössnitzberg

In the cellar of good Pössnitzberg something is happening

During our visit to the Good Pössnitzberg * in splendor at the South Styrian Wine Route in Austria we are lucky that hotel director Rainer Ogrinigg invites us to wine and champagne tasting in the estate's sparkling wine cellar. At this time of year, the sparkling wines of the past season rest in the cool chambers of the cellar until they are ripe for disgorgement. The bottles rest upside down on the vibrating desks for several weeks so that the yeast inside them collects in the bottle neck. They are regularly rotated by hand to support this process. Rainer Ogrinigg holds a bottle against the light and we can clearly see how the yeast fills the bottle neck. “In larger sparkling wine cellars, you freeze the bottle neck after this process and open the bottle.

The pressure ensures that the yeast plug shoots out of the bottle, leaving pure sparkling wine behind, ”explains the sparkling wine connoisseur. "Do you want to see how to open such a bottle by hand?" He then turns to us and the other wine friends who were drawn to the tasting. We will not miss that, of course, and he takes a bottle from the shaker and hands it to one of the wine lovers: "Please always hold the bottle neck down, otherwise the yeast will spread out again in the bottle," he warns her with a wink.

So the yeast is removed from the champagne

Then he briefly goes back to the basement and gets a large apron: "Since I have to clean my shoes myself, I can only protect myself to a certain extent from sparkling wine," he laughs and goes outside. His gaze wanders over the hilly landscape on the border between the Styria and Slovenia and it points to the lower vineyards. “There the grapes get less sun than the wines in the higher altitudes when the position of the sun changes in autumn. Therefore, the wines from these locations are less sweet than the wines grown on the mountain tops. This makes them perfect for sparkling wine production, ”he explains.

Then he carefully removes the bottle cap and holds his thumb on the opening. The pressure in the bottle ensures that the accumulated yeast splashes out vigorously. Rainer Ogrinigg laughs at us and says: "And who wants to taste the new sparkling wine now?" Of course nobody says no. It tastes very refreshing, but is a bit too dry for me personally. “In a sparkling wine cellar, the lost amount of liquid is replenished by the cellar master after disgorging. Here it has the opportunity to influence the taste of the sparkling wine again. ”Petar tastes the sparkling wine so well that he can enjoy a Secco Rosé as an aperitif for dinner. Wine and sparkling wine are a matter of taste, and "Everyone has to find the wine or sparkling wine that they personally like best." This is how Rainer Ogrinigg advises us after this interesting introduction to sparkling wine processing.

After our interesting champagne tasting we enjoy this for dinner in the Gasthof Kreuzwirt, which belongs to the estate Pössnitzberg, where we spend the night in the middle of the vineyards.

Good Pössnitzberg ****
Pössnitz 168
8463 Leutschach
Austria
Further information, current availability query and convenient online booking*

And if you are wondering now, where my knowledge of the terms from the sparkling wine production, then I do not want to adorn myself with foreign feathers. Thank you very much Philipp Losem for the expert support.

Do you also know:

• Taste the World: Wine Regions to Discover

Tips on wine and drinks can be found at Wine tourism - wine regions. More slow travel Travel Tips There's this link. Discover others Wine regions in Austria.

Source: own research on site. We thank you Trips to Savor for the invitation and assistance with this trip. Our opinion remains our own.

Text: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline