We start the day with the "Schilcher Tour South", straight from the hotel. As a newcomer to the region, I can confirm that southern Styria is rightly known as Austria's Tuscany after the first few metres of elevation gain. We let our gaze wander over the town and countryside from the garden of a wine tavern. We are now joined by father-in-law Wiggerl, a true Styrian who acts as our tour guide. This gives us a clear head for the gently rolling hills with their vineyards and the typical "Klapotetz". Thanks to these wooden constructions designed to chase away feathered grape thieves, the light red "Schilcher", the regional grape, can ripen in peace. Pressed from the Wildbacher grape, it has enjoyed regional protection since 1976 and is also offered as "Schilcher Sturm" in its early fermented state. We don't take up the offer for the time being, continue to fortify ourselves with electrolyte drinks and follow the signposts of the Schilcher Wine Road, where lovely farmhouses alternate with shady forest passages, short steep descents and panoramic views.
Here and there, we briefly join the traffic on a main road before escaping back into the idyllic countryside. We take the small mountain climb to the Riemerberg on unpaved roads in sections. Again and again we come across the "oil trail", a tour that informs Styrian greenhorns about the extraction of pumpkin seed oil - also known as the "green gold of Styria". At Bad Gams, there is also the option of tackling the "Schilcher Tour North", where climbing skills are definitely required.
Without any long, torturous climbs, but peppered with many small hills, we stay on the southern route and after 44 kilometres we are spit out again in Deutschlandsberg, where we relax our muscles in the sun loungers of the JUFA with a view of the town of 8,100 inhabitants.
You can find the full article with these tours as a PDF download below:
1st Schilcher Tour North/South: South 43.4 km, 645 m elevation gain / North 43.4 km, 856 m elevation gain
2nd Wine Route Tour: 72.3 km, 1064 m elevation gain
3rd Austria/Slovenija Tour: 78 km, 1143 m elevation gain
Downloads:
Austria: South-West Styria
