The Episcopal Wine Cellar in Styria
The Episcopal Wine Cellar at Schloss Seggau is one of the largest and most impressive buildings of its kind in all of Europe and is home to something very special: Wine from southern Styria.
The enormous interior dimensions (75 m long, 8 m wide and 8.5 m high) are an impressive architectural reflection of the importance of viticulture for Schloss Seggau.
OPENING HOURS OF THE EPISCOPAL WINE CELLAR
Our wine cellar team is very pleased to welcome you personally at the following times in our
Wine Cellar & Shop:
13th August – 31st October 2024
Tuesday – Sunday and public holidays
10 a.m. – 12 a.m. and 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
2nd November – 20th December 2024
Thursday – Sunday and on the 8th December
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
You can also order our wines from the comfort of your own home in our online shop or purchase them outside of opening hours at the hotel reception.
SEGGAU WINES AND THE EPISCOPAL WINE CELLAR
In the historical Episcopal Wine Cellar, which is one of the oldest and largest in Europe, we regularly hold wonderful tastings of our South Styrian wines from our own vineyards. The wine cellar can also be booked for other events and celebrations, such as a cosy get-together in the evening including music and food.
In the adjacent shop, you can buy Seggau wines, award-winning brandies and very special South Styrian specialities, such as Styrian pumpkin seed oil, to take home or as a souvenir.
The history of the Episcopal Wine Cellar and Seggau wines
SEGGAU WINE
Schloss Seggau is not only a hotel with an international congress and seminar centre, but has also been closely associated with winegrowing in southern Styria for centuries. For over 1,000 years, vines have been cultivated in the Seggau vineyards in the Sausal wine-growing region, from which typical South Styrian wines have been pressed – fresh and fruity, with a fine bouquet.
Our wines grow on around 8 hectares of vineyards and are vinified by our neighbour, the Landesweinbauschule Silberberg (Silberberg Regional Wine School). The product range is very typical for Southern Styria and ranges from the classic Styrian Welschriesling, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc or the Muscatel to a true specialty: Seggauer Communiun Wine. You can of course taste all varieties in our wine cellar and take them home with you.
THE EPISCOPAL WINE CELLAR
The Episcopal Wine Cellar at Schloss Seggau is more than 300 years old in its present form and was built between 1693 and 1697 under Prince-Bishop Rudolph Joseph Count of Thun. Unlike other wine cellars, it is not underground, but was built as a free-standing structure. It was only afterwards that the south side was backfilled with a 1.5-metre-thick gravel and clay layer, which served as insulation at the time.
Currently, there are 36 historic oak barrels in the wine cellar with a total capacity of about 150,000 litres. The largest barrel has a volume of 12,000 litres.
Aged wines dating back to 1929 are stored in our vinotheque. On request, the Seggau wine cellar also offers tastings of aged wines from the 1980 vintage onwards and an aged wine sale – also of individual bottles of older vintages.
The baroque vaulted cellar has not been used for wine production since 1992. Today it is a show cellar and is mainly used for wine tastings, parties and events.
An annex built in 1983 now houses the wine cellar and shop, where Seggau wines and other regional specialities are on sale.
