Summary
Weingut Gross in Ratsch an der Weinstraße is one of the best-known addresses in Southern Styria (Südsteiermark). Across around 36 to 37 hectares it grows exclusively white varieties, above all Sauvignon Blanc, plus Morillon (Chardonnay), Weißburgunder, Welschriesling and Gelber Muskateller. What defines the estate are the extremely steep sites around the Nussberg, largely worked by hand, and a cellar style built on time: the great single-vineyard wines mature at length before they go on sale. Gross is a founding member of the Steirische Terroir- und Klassikweingüter (STK) and has supported the Styrian idea of classified sites from the very beginning.
History
The estate's story begins in 1907, when Heinrich Gross acquired vineyards on the Witscheiner Herrenberg and thereby laid the foundation for a family business that has been passed on within the same family for more than a century. Depending on how you count, Martina and Johannes Gross run the house today in the fifth or sixth generation.
Decisive for the estate's modern reputation was Alois Gross, who took over the business in 1984 and, at a time when Styria was barely noticed internationally, focused consistently on quality and site character. In 2006 his sons Johannes and Michael Gross took on responsibility for the vineyards and the cellar. As early as 2005 the family had additionally acquired vineyards across the border in Slovenia.
In 2018/19 the brothers' paths separated: Martina and Johannes Gross have since led Weingut Gross on the Nussberg, while Michael Gross devotes himself with his wife Maria to the Slovenian project Vino Gross. Alois Gross remains connected to the estate as an adviser. Under the label „Gross & Gross“ the siblings have also been responsible for joint wines.
Location & Terroir
Ratsch an der Weinstraße lies in the far south of Styria, directly on the Slovenian border. The estate's vineyards stretch across steep ridges and slopes at roughly 300 to 500 metres altitude; individual parcels reach gradients of up to around 85 percent. Such steepness can hardly be mechanised – canopy work and harvest are carried out largely by hand.
Climatically, Southern Styria benefits from warm days and markedly cooler nights. These large temperature swings preserve the acidity and aromatic precision for which Styrian Sauvignon Blanc is known. The soils are diverse and small-scale: weathered sand, marl and calcareous sandstone formations (known regionally as Opok) create different water regimes and therefore noticeably different site profiles.
The estate's vineyards include Nussberg, Witscheiner Herrenberg, Perz, Sulz, Bärenburg, Obere Ranz and Kittenberg. A small parcel lies on the Slovenian side.
Style & Philosophy
The estate's signature is dry, taut and site-driven. Small parcels are vinified separately so that the differences between the individual vineyards remain traceable in the glass. In the cellar the family relies on patience: long lees contact, ageing in stainless steel and wood depending on the wine, and a late release of the top bottlings. Wines from the highest STK tier reach the market only after many months of maturation – time is explicitly part of the recipe here.
The vineyards are farmed organically; after several years of conversion, organic certification applies to the most recent vintages. The range is strictly white: Sauvignon Blanc as the leading variety, plus Morillon, Weißburgunder, Welschriesling and Gelber Muskateller as well as smaller quantities of other varieties.
Notable Sites & Wines
The range follows the three-tier logic of the Südsteiermark DAC – regional wine, village wine, single-vineyard wine – overlaid by the STK site classification:
- Ried Nussberg – Große STK Ried and the heart of the estate; the Sauvignon Blanc from here is the house's best-known wine
- Ried Sulz and Ried Perz – classified as Erste STK Ried, each with its own style between power and finesse
- Witscheiner Herrenberg – the family's historic original site
- Bärenburg, Obere Ranz and Kittenberg – further vineyards in the portfolio
The single-vineyard wines are complemented by more accessible regional and village wines, which offer a more affordable way into the estate's style.
Awards
Weingut Gross has been consistently highly rated by the relevant wine guides and tastings for years; the Sauvignon Blanc Ried Nussberg regularly ranks among the top wines of Southern Styria and has achieved scores at the very top end with Falstaff. More important than individual point scores, however, is the estate's role for the region: as a founding member of the STK, Gross helped shape the idea of a binding Styrian site classification and thereby created a framework in which the origin of Styrian white wines can be told systematically in the first place.