About the Producer
Weingut Tement is situated in southern Austria towards the Slovenian border in a region known as Südsteiermark, or South Styria. Styria is one of the three main regions for wine production in Austria and half of its production comes from South Styria – though it extends over no more than 2,500 hectares. Rather than being dominated by classic grape varieties Grüner Veltliner or Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Morillon (the local name for Chardonnay) take centre stage. The Tement winery itself lies on a small plateau above the Zieregg vineyard, affording dramatic views into neighbouring Slovenia. The Tement family also own Domaine Ciringa over the Slovenian border, where they produce wines from the continuation of the Zieregg vineyard, ‘Ciringa’ in Slovenian. Today, brothers Armin and Stefan run the estate, together with their father Manfred. All their holdings are cultivated organically and both estates were certified organic in 2018 after a lengthy conversion process. They have been part of the Demeter Association since 2022. A great deal of care is taken to uphold quality. Yields are kept low, only indigenous yeasts are used for fermentation and, following fermentation, the wines are aged in large old oak foudre for up to 20 months. Minimal sulphur is used, and only at bottling. All the wines are bottled with a glass stopper so there is no impact from any defective corks. The winemaking approach focuses on revealing the individual terroir as clearly as possible, which renders this range so compelling. These are truly outstanding wines.
