Weingut Sattlerhof from Gamlitz in Southern Styria
The Sattlerhof winery is a family business in Sernau near Gamlitz, managing 33 hectares of steep slopes in Southern Styria. The primary grape variety is Sauvignon Blanc, and since the 2021 vintage, the estate has been working biodynamically according to the guidelines of respekt-BIODYN.
Weingut Sattlerhof stands for cool, spicy white wines from a landscape where viticulture would be impossible without manual labor. Andreas and Alexander Sattler run the estate today, while their brother Hannes manages the hotel and restaurant located on the same premises. Around 120,000 vines grow on slopes that reach a gradient of up to 90 percent in some areas.
From the Erzherzog-Johann-Haus to the Winery
The building at the heart of the estate is called the Erzherzog-Johann-Haus and has been farmed since 1866, back when it functioned with livestock, fields, and vineyards side-by-side.
The turning point came in 1966 with Wilhelm Sattler senior, when he bottled white wine without residual sugar, enrichment, or acidification. What sounds natural today was a break from everything the market was accustomed to in Styria at that time. Sweet was simply preferred over dry back then, and those who produced dry wines had to justify their choice. Eleven years later, the family replanted the Ried Pfarrweingarten according to historical records and bottled the first wines labeled with their site names.
In 1990, Hannes Sattler opened the first Michelin-starred restaurant in the region, followed a year later by the first guest rooms, which were built by the family themselves. In 1993, Willi Sattler planted the Ried Kranachberg, which today produces the most sought-after bottles of the estate. The country house and inn were added in 2000, giving the estate its current form. Today, anyone traveling to Sernau will find the winery, inn, hotel, and kitchen garden all gathered on a single property.
From the region, to the village, to the single vineyard
The wines are classified according to the Styrian pyramid of origin, and this order is not a matter of labeling, but a matter of the specific plot.
At the base is the regional wine, the Sauvignon Blanc Südsteiermark, pressed from grapes of several municipalities and intended as the signature of the region on a smaller scale. Above this are the village wines from Gamlitz and Eichberg, such as the Morillon Gamlitz, the Weißburgunder Gamlitz, and the Muskateller Eichberg. At the very top are the single-vineyard wines, which are entitled to display the name of their individual site on the label.
The highest tier is called Große STK Ried and originates from the association of Styrian Terroir and Classic Wineries, which has classified its best sites itself. Kranachberg and Pfarrweingarten belong to this category, and the difference is not marked by more power, but by more length. A village wine is accessible after two years, while a single-vineyard wine often needs five years before it reveals its true character.
In addition to white wines, the estate produces Welschriesling, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir, along with noble-sweet rarities ranging from Auslese to Trockenbeerenauslese. And with Justė, the family has developed an non-alcoholic food companion made from an almost forgotten variety of quince and seven herbal extracts.
Soils from a vanished sea
The vineyards are only a few kilometers apart yet taste entirely different because they lie upon different geological eras.
18 million years ago, this was the site of the Paratethys Sea, and rivers from the Alps washed in quartz sands, while coral reefs and shellfish beds left limestone behind. This exact mixture determines today whether a wine tastes smoky, salty, or alpine fresh. What is perceived as minerality in the glass therefore has a tangible geological address.
The Alte Kranachberg, the historical core of the vineyard, sits at 450 meters on quartz sand with limestone and carries a smoky spice. The Kapellenweingarten extends up to nearly 600 meters, where its leached gravel-limestone conglomerate forces the vines to root deeply. In winter, up to 50 sheep graze the slopes there, and eight chapels and crosses stand between the rows. The Pfarrweingarten is a monopoly site on pure coral limestone and, with its 90 percent gradient, is the steepest vineyard of the estate.
Additionally, there is the Sernauberg, a warmer home hill that is harvested about a week earlier. The Ried Trinkaus lies on a mountain ridge with old vines, and the small Grassnitzburg with its 1.3 hectares belongs to it. The Sernauberg is located directly at the farm and was for a long time the only site from which the family bottled its own wine.
Hand labor on steep slopes and biodynamic conversion
On slopes with this degree of inclination, there is no machine that could be of use, which is why everything from pruning and canopy management to harvesting is done by hand.
Harvesting is selective and done in small crates, often in several passes through the same row, to ensure only fully ripe berries reach the cellar. This sorting work is the true reason for the clarity of the wines. What does not end up in the crate does not need to be filtered out later. The winery converted to organic cultivation in 2013, and since the 2021 vintage, all wines have been biodynamically certified and the estate belongs to the respekt-BIODYN group.
Since 2015, the vegetables for the estate's own kitchen have also been grown on the farm, closing the loop between the vineyard, the plate, and the glass. Depending on the tier, the wines ferment in steel tanks, large wooden barrels, or barriques and remain on the fine lees for between four months and a year and a half. Large barrels impart less wood aroma than small ones, which is why they are used where the vineyard, rather than the wood, is meant to speak.
Platinum from London and a star in-house
The 2018 Sauvignon Blanc from the Kapellenweingarten won 97 points and the Platinum medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards, the highest tier of this competition.
The 2021 Alte Kranachberg received 99 points from A la Carte, 98 from Falstaff, 95 from James Suckling, and 19.5 out of 20 from Gault&Millau. The 2022 vintage followed shortly after with 97 Falstaff points and 19 out of 20 from Gault Millau. The 2019 Morillon from the Pfarrweingarten stands at 96 Falstaff points and 97+ from A la Carte, and the 2021 Ried Trinkaus even achieved full marks.
Such ratings honor the producer, not the retailer, which is why they stand here without further commentary.
Cooking is also awarded outside the cellar: the restaurant holds a star in the Michelin Guide and, since 2019, three toques from Gault Millau; the head chef is Markus Sattler. That a winery operates a starred restaurant on the same property is the exception in Austria. Kudos.
Which Sattlerhof for which occasion
The regional wine is suitable for an introduction, as it shows the Styrian signature without requiring a special occasion.
Sauvignons from Gamlitz and Southern Styria pair perfectly with asparagus, fish, and spring vegetables. Their herbal spice starts exactly where butter and lemon leave off. The Morillon from the wooden barrel stands up to braised dishes, duck, and pâtés, while the Weißburgunder handles light poultry, pumpkin, and sugar snap peas well. The single-vineyard wines from Kranachberg and Kapellenweingarten demand time, air, and a large glass.
Those who wish to get to know the brand as a whole can find further white wines and the rest of our wines from Austria in our assortment. A visit to Sernau is worth it in any case, as the vineyard, kitchen, and cellar are only a few steps apart there. What is currently in stock is listed in the grid below.
