Wildbacher is a dark-skinned grape variety and specialty of the Styria region of Austria.The name "Wildbacher" is derived from its supposed location of origin, Wildbach, which is part of the city of Deutschlandsberg. It is a very old variety said to go back to the Celts, and manuscripts first record the name in the 16th century.
[Moser, Peter ''The Ultimate Austrian Wine Guide'' Falstaff Productions Ltd. (Falstaff Verlags GmbH) 2008 ] The variety is not particularly demanding in terms of soil though it does require warm sites with sufficient aeration as it is prone to rot. The grapes tend to ripen late and yields can be inconsistent. Wines made from Wildbacher typically exhibit red berry and herbal flavors with a refreshing acidity.
Schilcher
Schilcher is a specialty red wine from
Styria
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
made from Wildbacher grapes. Genuine Schilcher comes exclusively from West Styria although this style of wine is also made in South Styria and Southeast Styria. Schilcher wines are
rosé
A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...
s with pale red to straw shades and true Schilchers from West Styria can be identified by the presence of a
Lipizzaner
The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner (, , , , , , ) is a European breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroque type, and is powerful, slow to mature and long-lived; the coat is usually gray.
The n ...
stallion on the bottle or cap. Schilcher wines are light, dry and fruity with a distinctive crisp acidity and should be drunk as young as possible.
Italy
Wildbacher is also grown in the
Veneto
Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...
region of northeast Italy where it is generally used as a blending component,
[Stevenson, Tom ''The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia'' Dorling Kindersley Limited 2007 ] although Tenuta Col Sandago makes a 100% Wildbacher oak-aged red wine.
See also
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Austrian wine
Austrian wines are mostly dry white wines (often made from the Grüner Veltliner grape), though some sweeter white wines (such as dessert wines made around the Neusiedler See) are also produced. About 30% of the wines are red, made from Blaufr ...
*
Italian wine
Italian wine () is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the country with the widest variety of indigenous grapevine in the world, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, as well as the List of wine-producing regions#Countries, world's ...
References
External links
Grape varieties in Austria: Blauer Wildbacher Wines from Austria
Vitis International Variety Catalogue
Tenuta Col Sandago
{{Wine by country
Red wine grape varieties