Production

Styrian white wine is made reductively, as they say in the cellar: pressed quickly, fermented cool, with as little contact with air as possible. This way, the volatile aromas of Sauvignon Blanc or Morillon don't dissipate before they make it into the bottle. Almost everything ages in stainless steel tank; barrique here is the exception, not the rule.

Schilcher is made differently, even though the grapes are blue-black. After harvest, they're quickly separated from the stems. They sit on the skins only briefly — often just a few hours. The longer this maceration, the darker the color, ranging from pale onion-skin to vivid pink. After that, the juice is pressed directly and fermented like a white wine, which is what makes Schilcher a rosé rather than a red wine.

The DAC rules build a three-tier pyramid on this foundation. Gebietswein (regional wine) may contain at most four grams of residual sugar, making it dry, and goes on sale on March 1st following the harvest — except for Welschriesling and West Styrian Schilcher, which may already be sold with an official number in mid-December, since they ripen early and are ready to drink sooner. Ortswein (village wine) must come from a single municipality and isn't released until May.

The top tier is called Riedenwein, named after one of the roughly 580 legally defined single vineyard sites. It, too, doesn't reach the market before May. Hand-harvesting is mandatory at this level, not optional. On the steep slopes of Sausal or West Styria, there'd be no other choice anyway.

Alongside this runs an older, voluntary category. It's called Steirische Klassik, coined in 1993 by the founding estates of the STK. It applies to five signature varieties: Weißburgunder, Morillon, Grauburgunder, Gelber Muskateller, Sauvignon Blanc. It requires stainless steel tank aging, natural ripeness capped at 12.5 percent alcohol, and no sale before March 1st. Erste STK Lage requires vines at least twelve years old and may be sold from September; Große STK Lage not until eighteen months have passed — here, and only here, oak occasionally comes into play.