Weingut Gross 32 Items

In German, "gross" simply means big. In modern wine parlance, it means great or grand, as in Grosses Gewächs. In Austria, it is also the proud name of a well-regarded family with more than a century of winemaking history. Johannes Gross is the fifth generation of the family to farm and make wine in Ratsch, on the poetically hilly, verdant edge of Südsteiermark (southern Styria). It's a place defined by climatic tension between the Alps and the Adriatic with steep, terraced hillsides, a mélange of volcanic and sedimentary soils, and a range of traditional Styrian varieties, foremost Sauvignon Blanc. The family has holdings in some of Südsteiermark's best sites, including the two single vineyards, Nussberg and Sulz. The terrain demands intensive handwork; yields are kept very low. In the cellar, the focus is on traditional vinification methods. The results are entrancingly aromatic, lively, by turns finessed and muscular — and revelatory in their varied expressions of Südsteiermark terroir.  

The family estate dates to the mid-18th century, with an ancestor's purchase of a mixed farm in Ratsch. In 1907, Heinrich Gross bought a vineyard in the Witscheiner Herrenberg (now Slovenia), though it would be decades before the family specialized in wine alone. In the early 1980s, Alois Gross, Johannes’ father — inspired by “many discussions with winemakers around the world,” as Johannes explains — trained his attention on improving wine quality and is now widely regarded as a pioneer of quality winemaking in the region. Alois handed over the estate to Johannes when he was just 21; Alois knew from his own experience how important it is it be trusted to make decisions from an early age.

Südsteiermark is a poetically verdant, hilly region that stretches from the regional capital of Graz, east to the edge of Burgenland, and south to Austria's Slovenian border. Nestled between the Alps and the Adriatic, steep amphitheaters of vines alternate with meadows, forests, and small fields for a storybook landscape and unique wine culture. “Viticulture has been practiced here since the Romans and is still the number one economic factor in this region,” Johannes explains. Under the Habsburgs, Styria extended into what is now Slovenia, creating a vast viticultural area, split when political borders were redrawn in the aftermath of the two world wars. Ratsch is in the heart of Südsteiermark, one of three Styrian subregions, this widely regarded as best suited to the sauvignon blanc that is typically planted on the best parcels.