A Wine Road Goes to Sleep

Travelling to South Styria and its famous wine road every year has long become a tradition for me, and no time is better to visit them than the end of October, when the vineyard-covered hills of the “Styrian Toscana” turn bright red, yellow and all the shades in between. Wine and Sturm are served at almost every turn, and there is no shortage of open Buschenschänke with sunny terraces and tasty Brettljausen.

There is probably no worse time to visit South Styria than the second week of November, when the wine road turns empty, and although the scenery remains spectacular, finding a Brettljause becomes a challenge. To be honest, cycling along an empty road has its advantages, but the festive feeling typical of the last days of October is gone. It is obvious that the region is preparing for a lengthy Winterschlaf. During my usual cycling route from Ehrenhausen to Leutschach, I encountered only one Buschenschank that promised to open later in the day. Even the Leutschach’s brewery, where I normally enjoy a beer or two, was closed, contrary to its stated opening hours. It was only on my way back that I saw a sign towards Fellner and, having checked its website, found out it was open. As I only had a couple of hours left before dusk, and the weather was changing for the worse, I decided not to look further, particularly because I had never been to Fellner before.

I was lucky to reach the Buschenschank minutes before the fog covered the vineyards, so I could still appreciate a great view from the terrace. Unfortunately, it was too cold to stay outside, but Fellner unquestionably deserves a repeat visit, since it has several varieties of cold cuts platters on its menu. Today, however, I went for the standard Brettljause – and was not disappointed.

It was a very typical Brettljause of this region: big, very varied and generous with spreads, including, of course, a spread made out of pumpkin seeds. The liver spread was, as usual, the one I liked least, but fortunately, there were horseradish and plenty of fresh and pickled vegetables to lessen the liver taste. Two fat-only spreads (Schmalz and Bratlfettn), on the other hand, were excellent, and the pumpkin seed one was just perfect.

All the meats were fresh and without any unpleasant surprises such as unexpected pieces of cartilage. One thing I realized though is that Speck, which is an absolutely essential ingredient of Brettljausen of Salzburg, Tyrol and even mountainous Styria, tastes strangely out of place in the middle of vineyards. But this is not a complaint, just a personal observation.

While slightly off the main South Styrian wine road, Fellner is a great Buschenschank to visit and enjoy wine at (and maybe take a few bottles home). On a sunnier and warmer day than today, it would have been even more pleasant.