Wohlmuth

Since 1803, the Wohlmuth family has been making wine in Kitzeck, a picturesque village in Sausal in the south of Styria near the Slovenian border, the highest wine-growing region in Austria. Not only is it high up, the 65 hectares of vineyards are the steepest in Europe with a slope of up to 90 percent, it is also the coldest village in the region. Warm during the day, cold at night. The extremely bare slate soils were formed 400 million years ago with the Alps. In short, a rugged landscape with overwhelmingly steep vineyards and numerous terrace plantings.

A family business through and through
Handicraft is therefore the order of the day. 1,200 man-hours are needed per hectare to chop the ground with hammers, prune vines, pick grapes, and mow the steepest slopes with a scythe. Just like his father, who was – among other things – ‘Austrian winemaker of the year 2001’, Gerhard Josef Wohlmuth is convinced that 100% of the quality of the wine is determined in the vineyards. His wife Marion is responsible for the organization behind the scenes and the distribution. Father and mother are also still active in the family business. During the day, the three children of Marion and Gerhard J. are in the good hands of their great-grandmother, who also lives on the estate.

Careful manual work out of conviction
Gerhard J. focuses on yield reduction and nature. Natural resources are essential because irrigation is impossible. But Wohlmuth also completely avoids the use of insecticides or herbicides. Depending on the grape, the yield varies between 3,200 and 4,500 liters per hectare. The family’s fully manual approach ensures that they can determine very precisely when to harvest, whether to press, destem or a combination of the two. For whole bunches, with or without maceration for a few hours or preferably no contact with the skin. Every decision determines the future education of the wines.

Proven quality
Senior has trained his son well. They clearly made and make the right decisions because their wines are exceptionally rich and complex. The terroir comes into its own: steep slopes, slate soil, microclimate with great variation in temperature and the limited, hand-selected yield. Wohlmuth succeeds year after year in producing award-winning wines at (inter)national level. We are proud to be able to delight you with these beautiful wines in our portfolio.