Slate soils, steep slopes and manual work: Kitzeck, a village 564 metres above sea level in the Sausal region of southern Styria, is home to the Schauer winery, a family business steeped in tradition - its roots date back to 1757 - with outstanding vineyards, a sustainable philosophy and wines full of elegance and finesse. Today, the brothers Stefan and Bernhard Schauer hold the reins. Both are passionate winegrowers and run the business side by side.
The winery owns traditional and particularly favoured vineyards, which are very labour-intensive to cultivate due to their impressive slopes. Manual labour is essential, but guarantees meticulous selection and the very best quality of the harvested grapes.
The Sausal differs geologically from the rest of southern Styria. Slate sets the tone here. The steep slopes, some with dizzying gradients, were formed 300 million years ago in the Palaeozoic era and their soils consist of phyllitic slate. At that time, southern Styria, which surrounds the Sausal, lay under a primordial sea from which the Sausal protruded like an island. This is why there are no calcareous marine deposits here, but rather clay slate, sericite quartzite, green slate, red and blue-black slate. Limestone deposits are only occasionally found at lower altitudes. You can taste the slate in the Schauers' wines: the smoky, mineral and savoury notes are indicative of this type of soil.
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