Austria’s Styria
View of Bad Gams, Austria
Steiermark: Mountains and Forests
By the Hamlet of Gersdorf
Steiermark: Farmers’ Huts in Well-Tended Fields
Gallery July 2021
Monthly Archives: July 2021
Rosé at the Spa
Bad Gams is an Austrian spa town, quaint, quiet, thoroughly devoted to relaxation. What better way to relax than an early morning hike, (provisioned with mineral waters), some time at a spa, followed by a sampling of the local, but widely known, Rosé: Schilcher?
In fact, the trail I followed early one June morning was entitled the Schilcherkellerweg. A mouthful for so early in the morning, but broken down it translates as Schilcher Cellar Trail. It was an easy-going (figuratively and literally speaking) hike that took in the best of what this area has to offer: vineyards and spa waters.
Wine Notes: Schilcher Wine
What I Learned
There are three districts of Austria’s Steiermark wine region, but only the Weststeiermark vintners produce Schilcher wine. This unique wine is a delicious rosé with unique characteristics. The name Schilcher stems from an old Germanic word meaning to shimmer (as in: with color).
Schilcherkellerweg: Trail in a Nutshell
Trail Name: Schilcherkellerweg (SKW)
Trail Type: A mid-distance circuit trail; fairly well-maintained, partly paved, some grassy or slightly rougher surfaces, and the rest is hard-packed surface; marking on the trail is good, most of the time.
Length:
Total – 10.5 kilometers/6.2 miles
Convenient to: Stainz, Deutschlandsberg, or Graz, Austria
Marking: Signs, or simply marks (on trees or poles) of blue and yellow horizontal stripes