South Styrian Wine Route - Buschenschank

The South Styrian Wine Route

We are two days in the Loisium Wine & Spa Hotel in southern Styria invited. This is located directly on the South Styrian Wine Road in Austria. Reason enough that we are on our way to the best Buschenschank in the Styria to search.

We are equipped with a map showing all the taverns of the region, and our head is full of tips provided by the receptionist of the Loisium Hotel. So it pulls us out into the hills. We had already admired this from the balcony of our room. In sunshine, deep blue skies and temperatures around the 25 degrees we break up. We drive south from the Loisium Hotel.

 

 

I cannot get a remark from our adviser out of my head. When I asked how far it was to the next town and how long it took to get to know the entire South Styrian Wine Route, she said succinctly: “It is only a few kilometers to the Slovenian border. And if you get hungry for lunch, you can stop at the Polz, Tement or Dreisiebner headquarters. ”I look at the menu and think:“ We'll be there in a few minutes. And should I be hungry again? "

 

 

The South Styrian Wine Route - between Styria and Slovenia

I did not know what to expect from the next corner along the South Styrian Wine Route expected: incredible and breathtaking views of the vineyards and vineyards around us both on Slovenian and on the Austrian side.

Surprised, we notice that the signage here leads from one winery to the next. I quickly realize why this is so: the towns extend along the road. Local boundaries are not recognizable. The places consist almost exclusively of the wineries, which line up on the wine route like pearls on a line, so that we can orient ourselves better, if we each select one of them to the next destination.

And we do. However, only after we stop every few meters and, overwhelmed by photo motives, constantly press the trigger of our cameras. So we need a couple of miles fast for a few hours, above all because we always take breaks at various taverns along the way. That is part of such a tour through the wine country necessarily.

 

 

What is a tavern?

If it sounds like I've always known what a tavern is, I have to admit that's not true. Only on this trip through the southern Styria, I found out what it is: a Buschenschank is a wine bar on a winery, which is subject to strict regulations.

In a tavern, only snacks and cold dishes are served, with products often coming directly from the winery: smoked ham, raw sausage, cold roast, lard, vegetarian spreads, mustard, horseradish, tomatoes, radishes and other seasonal vegetables. Or the winegrower exchanges wine for natural products, as does the Dreisiebner Stammhaus, for example. The trout we find here on our plate comes from a friendly family, who delivers them in exchange for the three-way wine. There is also home-baked bread, which provides the whole a wonderful underlay.

Or there is, as we have tasted it in the tavern Polz, a mini mint gugelhupf with cream and chocolate sauce. And I drink a sprinkled lemon balm for that. Although of course wine would be the better drink for it. But if you, like us, work on this route, you can not help it. We save our wine consumption until the evening at the hotel, and during the day we prefer the excellent and home-made juices of the region.

 

 

Between Styria and Slovenia

The South Styrian Wine Route winds its way along the crest of the hills, whose slopes drop steeply down into the valley. Many of the wineries are located on the hilltop. Others nestle close to the mountain slopes. Some lie like an eagle's nest in an exposed spot above the valley and look as if the next larger gust of wind could blow them away.

In the south, the road runs along the border with Slovenia, and if you, as we do, at one of the many branches, and on the bike path, instead of the road drives, you can even cross the border. There we follow a few kilometers of the border on the Slovenian side.

The wines are grown on the southern slopes and painstakingly cut every summer. Again and again we see wooden wind turbines on high places, whose function I am not quite clear about. So I ask Irmgard Dreisiebner, the owner of the parent company Dreisiebner, about it: "This is a Klapotetz," she says. And when I just look at her blankly, she explains: “These are wooden wheels that were set up earlier in August to use their rattling noises to drive the birds out of the vineyards that were targeting the grapes. Today they are left standing because they have become an attraction for visitors. ”

 

 

Pure enjoyment in the Buschenschanken

So we sit in front of our vintner's snack in the Buschenschank in the parent company Dreisiebner, from his Terrace we look out over the surrounding vineyards. A view that makes this summer's day on the South Styrian Wine Road a worthy highlight at the end of our round tour - even though we actually only covered a short distance along this route. When we arrive down in the valley in Gamlitz, we are amazed to find that it is only three kilometers to our hotel. If you want to explore the wine region in southern Styria in detail, you should definitely plan more time than we did.

We visited the following taverns:

Winery Erich and Walter Polz
8471 playing field
Grassnitzberg 54a
Tel. +43 (0) 3453 2582

Winery Repolusk
Roland & Barbara Repolusk
8463 shine ad wine street 41
Tel. + 43 (0) 3454 313

Winery Dreisiebner parent company
8461 Sulztak on the wine route 35
Tel. +43 (0) 3453 2590

 

A stay in the LOISIUM Wine & Spa Resort Südsteiermark *  you can book at this link.

---

Travel Arrangements

Arriving by plane and / or car

The nearest airport is Graz. From there it is best to travel by rental car or car to enjoy the South Styrian Wine Route.

Car Rentals:

Cheap car hire - book quickly and easily!

Accommodation in on the South Styrian Wine Route

Hotels and accommodations on the South Styrian Wine Route * You can also easily book through our partner booking.com.

 

---

 

Do you already know:

• Heuriger or wine tavern - what is it?
• Wine Wellness Hotel in Langenlois
• Winery rooms in the estate Pössnitzberg in Styria

 

For more Slow Travel travel tips there's this link. Discover other wine regions in Austria here.

Source: own research on site at the invitation of the Loisium Wine & Spa Resort Südsteiermark. However, our opinion remains our own.

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