Weiss

WEISS 2021

Region: Steiermark, Austria

Grape: Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay

Category：White wine

A quiet wine that makes you feel like you're in the mysterious Steiermark morning mist that covers the vineyards...

[Producer information]
Franz Strohmeier

Franz's father originally cultivated grapes, but he did not make wine and sold the grapes to an agricultural cooperative.
After graduating from brewing school, he returned to Steins and began making wine. 1989 is the first vintage.
What he learned at school was the basic way of making wine, and it was a classic wine that was far from natural.
Starting in 2000, we gradually converted our fields to organic, gradually reducing the amount of sulfites, and in 2005 we produced our first sparkling wine without the addition of sulfites.

When Franz was a child, he often rode on tractors with his father and helped out in the fields.
After spraying pesticides, he had a severe headache even though he was wearing a mask, and he felt that pesticides were not suitable for his body.
He thought it would be better for himself and his family's health not to use pesticides, and that was the impetus for me to start organic farming.

Steiermark is located in the southeast of Austria, and is a fairly cool production area in Austria.
Cold winds continue to blow from the 2000m Alpine Mountains, making this a high-altitude area where the harvest is slowest in Austria.
The village of Sankt Stefan, where Franz's home is located, is about 30 minutes by car from Graz, Austria's second largest city, and about 40 km from the Slovenian border.
He owns a total of four farms: a 3ha farm near his home that he inherited from his father, and three in the Badgum area.
The field of locally grown Blauer Wildbacher, which was planted in 1975, is hardly pruned and is completely uncultivated.
A veritable jungle that surprises everyone who sees it...
It seems like the energy of being one with nature is reflected in the wine.

In 2022, a total of 30,000 bottles will be produced, but exports will now reach 35 countries, and the popularity overseas will continue to increase (compared to only 2 countries 15 years ago).

The former top sommelier at NOMA, which has won first place in the world's best restaurants many times, is also a big fan and friend of Franz.
He even stayed at Franz's home for about three months.
At the 2023 French wine event "Dive Boutelle", Franz's booth was filled with people and proved overwhelmingly popular.
The staff working at Jura's top brewery were also enthusiastically tasting Franz with respect...

*For more detailed information, please see my report!