Discover Carinthia's highest vineyard
A vineyard in Upper Carinthia? It's hard to believe - but it's true! In Flattach, the village at the foot of the Mölltal Glacier, is Carinthia's highest vineyard owned by the GrafenBERGER - Ernestine Berger, at an altitude of 880 meters above sea level. As the vineyard is not accessible by car, there is a weekly hike to the vineyard, including a guided tour and tasting, from the time the grapes bloom until the grape harvest.
We thought that sounded exciting and signed up for the hike to the vine blossom.
Registration for the hike
As we received the information about the hike from the Obervellach-Reisseck tourist office, we also registered for the hike there. You can also register directly with the hiking guide Sylvia Granitzer or the winegrower Ernestine Berger.
Meeting and starting point of the vineyard hike
Starting from Obervellach, we made our way to the neighboring municipality of Flattach, where the vineyard is located. The meeting point is at the parking lot of the Hotel Fraganter Wirt in Außerfragant. (9831 Flattach, Außerfragant 16) The hotel is located directly on the main road and is therefore easy to find. The parking lot offers plenty of space and can be used free of charge.
When we arrived, we were warmly greeted by hiking guide Sylvia Granitzer and her dog Emma. Once the small group was complete, the journey to the vineyard began and we were really excited - we hadn't been able to spot a vineyard anywhere yet.
Start of the hike & exciting stories
We started by walking from the meeting point through the small district of Außerfragant. We stopped briefly at an old farm and Sylvia told us a legend about the Perchten, who once roamed the valley and took naughty people or bad children with them...
At the end of the village, a small path, the Laaser Rundweg, leads into the forest.
The adorable dog Emma already knows the way and led us to the vineyard.
Romantic & shady hiking trail with delicious wild strawberries
After the first few meters, the path narrowed and a shady, romantic path meandered through the forest up to the Grafenberg. The densely overgrown forest protected us from the sun all the way and the temperature was pleasant.
Lots of fruity wild strawberries lined the path and gave off a wonderful scent. Of course, we didn't miss the opportunity to taste a small strawberry every now and then! 😉
Sylvia told us short and interesting stories about the surroundings, vegetation and mining in the municipality during short breaks.
Arrival at the vineyard
After about 45 minutes of walking, we realized at the end of the path that we were very close to our destination. When we spotted the winegrower who was already waiting for us, we all realized that we had arrived at our destination. But we still couldn't see any vines...
One last small clearing had to be climbed before the highest vineyard in Carinthia finally revealed itself. Indeed - at 880 metres above sea level, surrounded by breathtaking natural scenery, away from the road and civilization, wine grows.
A sip of refreshing Uhudler refreshed us after the hike before we started the tour through the vineyard with Ernestine Berger. She told us what motivated her to grow her own wine. In 2012, the hard-working winemaker started to build an access road to her south-facing slope on her own initiative and then planted the first vines. A very special feature is that the area where the vineyard is located has a microclimate zone, which makes viticulture in this region possible at all.
Guided tour through the vineyard
The winegrower has now planted 1,600 vines of the Regent, Zweigelt, Merlot and Rössler varieties and looks after these vines all by herself. Whether pruning the vines, tying or mowing. She only gets help from friends and acquaintances during the harvest. But she loves this work and puts all her energy and love into her "alpine" vineyard.
Culinary pleasure tour
After the tour, we were really looking forward to tasting the organic wine. The winemaker only uses natural fertilizers and "brews" her own manure from nettles, for example.
The cozy garden table was already invitingly set. There was a huge cheese platter with different types of cheese, all made by Sylvia herself. She uses the milk from her two cows to make her own cheese. The winemaker baked her own bread and we were allowed to help ourselves. It was simply delicious.
The snack was accompanied by 3 wines for tasting. A Zweigelt from 2015 and 2016 and a Cuvee from last year. We have to say - we are thrilled and couldn't believe that such tasty wines are produced in this location.
We can only recommend the tour to the vineyard to everyone!
Info hotline
+43 4824 2700
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Default. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information
