Schilcher
Schilcher , rarely also Schiller , is the name of the wine made from the Austrian red grape variety Blauer Wildbacher . In Austria it is considered a rosé wine because of its light red color , but according to the type of fermentation it can also be counted among the red wines .
Schilcher is a protected trade name: Schilcher must come from Styria . It can be referred to as "Schilcherland DAC " or "Schilcherland DAC Klassik" if it meets the criteria of the DAC regulation Schilcherland. The corresponding ordinance on the Austrian Wine Act was published on October 11, 2017.
geography
The Blue Wildbacher vine is grown in the western Styrian hill country up to an altitude of 500 m . The Schilcher cultivation area is more than 600 hectares; it increased roughly fivefold between 1960 and 2008.
In the south of Styria, which, as the Steirerland wine-growing region, is one of the Austrian wine-growing regions, the Schilcher Wine Route runs from north to south via the following stations:
Ligist - Gundersdorf - St. Stefan - Greisdorf - Stainz (with Stainz Castle) - Vochera - Bad Gams - Wildbach Castle - Deutschlandsberg - Schwanberg - Wies - Eibiswald
history
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The name of the wine is derived from the bright red shimmering color ( Austrian “schilchern” for shimmering ); the origin of the name becomes even clearer from the subsidiary form Schiller . The blue Wildbacher vine, which belongs to the red grape varieties , was probably already around the year 400 BC. BC ( Latène period ) grown by the Celts in the area of today's Styria and the former Lower Styria from a native wild grape. The variety was first described in a wine book by Johannes Rasch in 1580, and in 1842 it was scientifically classified. The promotion of Schilcher production in western Styria goes back to Archduke Johann , who was looking for a new economic pillar for the region in the mid-19th century.
Pope Pius VI made in 1782 on the arrival to Vienna to Emperor Joseph II. station in the Franciscan monastery Maria Lankowitz in Köflach . The Pope noted in his diary about the Schilcher that was served to him for dinner, as a native Italian with low-acid southern wines than with more bitter Austrian wines:
"They put a pink vinegar in front of us, which they called Schilcher."
The bottle train of a west Styrian narrow-gauge railway (760 mm), which runs to promote tourism , carries a blue buffet wagon that bears the name "Schilcherschaukel", referring to the regional wine.
properties
The Schilcher wine enjoys plant variety protection . A wine may only be declared and sold as "Schilcher" if it is made from 100% blue Wildbacher grapes, which are also grown exclusively in Styria. The area protection of the Schilcher has existed since the 1976 amendment of the Austrian Wine Act .
| Characterization of the wine | |
|---|---|
| colour | Onion-colored to ruby red, mostly light red |
| odor | delicate bouquet |
| taste | lively, fresh, fruity, slightly sour, crisp, harmonious and dry |
| property | high acid content, typical bouquet |
| Ripening time | Mid-October |
In western Styria, the Schilcher is very much valued as a "Schilcher mixture " (Schilcher schorle ) and also as a thirst quencher. The Austrian poet Maria Holzinger describes the wine in a short poem:
“You onion- colored Schilcherwein,
you give strength to the weak,
roll fiery through the limbs
and throw the strongest down.
You make the brittle as soft as butter,
you soon get the mute to talk,
make the old happy
and love the cold. "
On the other hand, some authors claim that Schilcher makes rabid in the sense of aggressive; that is why it is sometimes referred to as the "Rabiatperle". In view of the high acid content, the joke term "shirt spreader" is also common.
Schilchersturm and other specialties
As a not yet fully fermented new wine , called Sturm in Austria , the Schilcher is called Schilchersturm and impresses with its cloudy color, which appears pink to purple. It is drunk in the wine taverns in West Styria in September and October; Traditionally, roasted chestnuts are served with it. Schilcher is also processed into sparkling wine , grappa or vinegar , as well as jelly .
literature
- Reinhard P. Gruber : The Schilcher ABC . Verlag Droschl, Graz 1988, ISBN 3-85420-128-1 .
- Renate Just: Luck in a glass . In: The time . No. 42 , October 11, 2007 ( online ).
- Werner Tscherne : The paradise of Styria . Deutschlandsberg 1991, ISBN 3-9500092-0-5 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Description of the grape variety on the oesterreichwein.at website, accessed on February 7, 2017.
- ↑ Federal Law Gazette II No. 111/2011 : § 1 Paragraph 2 Z 10 lit. a Wine Labeling Ordinance.
- ↑ Description of the grape variety. ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. On the website of Schilcherstadt Deutschlandsberg, accessed on January 3, 2014.
- ^ Rudolf Steurer: Austrian Wine Guide . tape 1 . Verlag Carl Ueberreuter, Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-8000-9042-2 , p. 104 .
- ↑ Federal Law Gazette II No. 273/2017 DAC Ordinance Schilcherland: Ordinance of the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management laying down conditions for quality wines typical of the region with origin profiles for the Schilcherland wine-growing region (DAC Ordinance "Schilcherland"), Article 10 the "Collective amendment DAC ordinances 2017".
- ↑ a b c d Werner Grüner: Blauer Wildbacher. December 2008, accessed March 4, 2016 .
- ↑ Schilcher. On the website schilcher.at, accessed on February 13, 2012 .
- ↑ Werner Tscherne : The paradise of Styria . 1991.
- ↑ Reinhard P. Gruber : The Schilcher ABC . 1988.
