🍷 Weingut Polz

Weingut Polz is a family wine estate on the Grassnitzberg in Straß in Steiermark, in the South Styria wine region near the Slovenian border. According to the estate, great-grandfather Johann Polz laid its foundations on the Grassnitzberg in 1912. After 1945 grandfather Reinhold Polz took over a small mixed farm; with his wife Johanna, whom he married in 1957, the focus shifted towards wine. From the late 1980s Erich and Walter Polz made origin rather than grape variety the centre of their work, and the estate grew to about 100 ha.

According to the estate, Christoph Polz increasingly shaped the wines from 2011, and in spring 2020 the fourth generation, led by Erich Polz junior, took over. The estate has been certified as a sustainable business since August 2019. Its range includes Morillon (Chardonnay), Welschriesling and Sauvignon Blanc sold as Südsteiermark DAC, as well as village and single-vineyard wines.

The estate names Hochgrassnitzberg, Obegg, Theresienhöhe (Kitzeck-Sausal), Grassnitzberg Licht and Witscheiner Herrenberg as its single-vineyard sites. According to the estate, the sites are steep slopes in a cool climate, harvested by hand; it prunes gently, avoids insecticides and is converting its vineyards to organic farming, but is not yet certified organic. Erich Polz junior and Christoph Polz are responsible for the cellar and vinification.

Südsteiermark is a protected designation of origin (PDO) of the EU, protected since 1996. Under the Austrian Wine Act 2009, a Qualitätswein must come from grapes harvested in a single wine-growing area, reach at least 15° KMW and carry a state test number; the term DAC may only be used with the regional conditions set by ordinance.

Why it matters to you. In South Styria, Morillon is the local name for Chardonnay, so the label may not show the international name. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.