Today I'm going to write a little about the West-Steiermark (Schilcherland):
West-Steiermark:
The Western Styrian Schilcherland reaches from Ligist in the north down south to Eibiswald and Wies on the eastside of the Koralpe mountains. The most famous grape from this region is the local blauer wildbacher. It brings a lot of tannin and acidity. The grape is mostly used for rose wine which is called Schilcher. It gives a strong acidic taste with a smell of raspberry, black currant and strawberry. The best Lagen (appellations) are on the south facing hills of Hochgrail.
The Schilcherland is protected from strong winds by the Koralpe mountains on the east which makes the temperature rise a lot at the daytime. The night brings a cool down from the forests around the wine areas which gives the wine acidity and a fruity taste.
In the region you'll find a lot of good white wines as well. Especially Sauvignon Blanc seems to like the same conditions as the Schilcher grape Blauer Wildbacher. There's also interesting Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) to find or some lighter Morillon (Chardonnay).
Good vineyards are: Jöbstl, Klug Markus, Langmann vulgo Lex, Lazarus vulgo Pers, Oswald vulgo Trapl, Franz Strohmeier, Weber.
My favorite vineyards in this region are:
Eduard Oswald Trapl: (
http://www.trapl-schilcher.at)
Klug Markus: (
http://www.markusklug.at)
Langmann-Lex: (
http://www.l-l.at)
My favorite restaurants are:
Jagawirt:
Guesthouse with own pork breed, butchery and organic agriculture. Also has got their own distillery with high class distills. Really nice local food and most of the products come from their own agriculture. Also nice rooms to stay at. The house is all old traditional Styrian style. (
http://www.jagawirt.at).
Rauch-hof:
Rauch-hof is the place to go when you like fish. They produce their own trout and are well known for their own organic asparagus. Especially the terrace has a nice atmosphere (
http://www.rauch-hof.at).