Schilcher is a wine produced solely in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n region of Western Styria (''Weststeiermark''), in the districts of

Deutschlandsberg Deutschlandsberg (; sl, Lonč) is a town in Deutschlandsberg (district), Deutschlandsberg district of Styria, Austria. It is located in southern Austria, near the border with Slovenia. It is approximately 35 km from Graz. Popular tourist att ...

and Voitsberg, sharing a border with

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and Carinthia to the south and west. The Schilcher wine itself is a distinct rosé made from the indigenous Blauer Wildbacher grape. The colour ranges from a light onion tinge to a deep ruby. The grape was once a wild variety which was said to contain alcohol compounds which, in turn, allegedly would induce wild inebriation, hence its colloquial name ''Rabiatperle'' - rabid pearl. The name Schilcher originates from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

word ''schillern'' meaning to radiate with colour.

Wine style

Wine from the Schilcher grape is also used for blending and for the production of sparkling wine. The wine has a strong acidity and is renowned for its exclusive

aroma An odor (American English) or odour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds that are generally found in low concentrations that humans and animals can perceive via their se ...

, often associated with strawberries. It should be drunk relatively young at a temperature of 9 to 11 °C accompanied with traditional

n cold cured meats. Authentic Schilcher wine must carry the official emblem of the white horse (referring to the

Lipizzan The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner ( hr, Lipicanac, cz, Lipicán, hu, Lipicai, it, Lipizzano, sr, Lipicaner, sl, Lipicanec), is a European horse breed, breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroqu ...

s bred in

Piber The Piber Federal Stud (''Bundesgestüt Piber'') is a stud farm dedicated to the breeding of Lipizzan horses, located at the village of Piber, near the town of Köflach in western Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1798, began breeding Lipizzan ...

for the world-famous

Spanish Riding School The Spanish Riding School (german: Spanische Hofreitschule) is an Austrian institution dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, based in Vienna, Austria, whose performances in the Hofburg are also ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) and also carry the official certification number of denomination.

References

{{reflist Rosé wines Austrian wine Economy of Styria