Top 10 Distilleries in Styria
Drive south-east out of Graz and the landscape softens into rolling hills, orchards and vineyards that locals call the Steirisches Vulkanland — the Styrian volcanic country, named for the extinct volcanoes whose basalt cones still rise above the fields. This is pumpkin-seed-oil land, but it is also one of Austria's great fruit-brandy regions. The warm slopes ripen apples, pears, quinces, rowanberries and wild plums to a concentration that the distillers here capture in glass-clear eaux-de-vie and slowly aged Brände. These ten producers map Styrian distilling from the castle hill of Riegersburg to the spa town of Bad Radkersburg on the Slovenian border.
1. Gölles, Riegersburg (Vulkanland)
Alois Gölles, working in the shadow of the dramatic Riegersburg fortress, is the name most outsiders know first. The family built its reputation on fruit brandies of extraordinary clarity — the Williams pear, the quince (Quitte) and the apple varietals are textbook examples of Styrian distilling — and on a parallel empire of aged balsamic-style fruit vinegars. The Alte Zwetschke, a long-aged wild-plum brandy, is a regional benchmark. The estate is geared up for visitors, with a manufactory shop and guided tastings that walk you through the difference between a clear eaux-de-vie distilled to be drunk young and a barrel-rested brandy with years behind it. For many travellers it is the obvious first stop, both because the quality sets the standard and because the castle above makes the village an easy half-day on its own.
2. Krauss, Bad Radkersburg (Vulkanland)
The Krauss distillery in the far south-eastern corner of Styria is one of the region's most ambitious houses, working with the volcanic-soil fruit of the Vulkanland to produce a broad range of Brände and liqueurs. The location near the Mur river and the Slovenian border gives the orchards a warm, almost Pannonian climate that shows in the ripeness of the spirits.
3. Brennerei Lagler, Vulkanland
Lagler is a classic Vulkanland family distillery, the kind of farm operation that forms the backbone of Styrian schnapps culture. Working from its own orchards, it produces apple, pear and stone-fruit brandies alongside the Kletzenbrand — a brandy built on dried pears, the Kletzen of the name — that is a local winter speciality and traditionally tied to the Advent and Christmas table. The drying of the fruit before fermentation concentrates the sugars and gives the spirit a deeper, almost figgy note that sets it apart from a fresh-fruit brand. It is exactly the sort of regional product that rewards a visit to the farm rather than a supermarket shelf.
4. Fischerauer, Hartberg region (Eastern Styria)
The Fischerauer distillery in the hills of eastern Styria has become known well beyond the region for its precise fruit distillates and its experimental whisky and gin work. The house combines the traditional Styrian fruit base with a modern craft sensibility, and its bottles regularly appear among Austria's award winners.
5. Aibler, Eastern Styria
Aibler is a respected Styrian fruit-brandy house working the same orchard tradition — apples, pears, quinces and the wild fruits of the hedgerows distilled in small copper pot stills. The focus on single-variety, single-orchard spirit is exactly the philosophy that has made the region's best schnapps so sought after.
6. Krug, Eastern Styria
The Krug distillery is another of the family farm operations that give Styria its density of small, serious producers. Working from estate orchards, it turns out the full Styrian range — Obstler, Williams, Marille (apricot) and the dried-fruit Kletzenbrand — at a quality level that reflects generations of accumulated craft.
7. Distilling around Feldbach (Vulkanland)
The countryside around Feldbach, in the heart of the Vulkanland, is studded with small Buschenschank-style farm distilleries that sell direct from the orchard. These are the producers who define everyday Styrian schnapps — honest apple and pear Brände, Vogelbeere from the rowan, and quince in the years when the fruit sets well.
8. Distilling around Riegersburg
Beyond Gölles, the Riegersburg area is a cluster of small distillers drawn by the same warm volcanic slopes. The castle hill draws visitors, and many farms here pair their fruit brandies with a tasting room, making the area one of the easiest places to taste Styrian distilling at the source.
9. Schnapps farms of the Sausal hills
West of the main Vulkanland, the Sausal and southern Styrian wine hills carry their own distilling tradition, where vineyard estates run pot stills alongside the cellar. Here the spirit often starts as grape marc — a Styrian Trester — distilled into a clean, vineyard-scented brandy that complements the region's celebrated white wines.
10. Graz urban distillers
Graz, the regional capital, anchors a small but growing urban craft scene of gin and aged-spirit makers who draw on the surrounding orchards for their raw material. The city makes a natural base for a Styrian distilling tour, an hour or less from almost every producer on this list. Its market halls and farm shops are also the easiest single place to taste across the region without driving, since many of the Vulkanland houses sell through them. A UNESCO-listed old town, a strong restaurant scene and good rail links make Graz the logical hub from which to set out into the volcanic hills each morning.
Styrian distilling in context
What unites these houses is the fruit. Styria is orchard country first, and the discipline of its distillers lies in capturing a single, perfectly ripe variety without losing its scent in the still. The volcanic soils of the Vulkanland, the warm south-eastern climate and a deep farm tradition of Kletzenbrand and Obstler give the region a coherence that few fruit-brandy regions in Europe can match. Most of these producers are small enough that you will often meet the distiller in person, and many sell only from the farm gate or a handful of regional shops, which is part of the pleasure of a tour here. The best season is autumn, when the new harvest comes in and the apples, pears and quinces are mashed, but the tasting rooms keep their doors open year round. Pair a tasting with the local pumpkin-seed oil — the other great product of these hills — and you have the essence of south-eastern Austria in two bottles.
Explore on the map
Every distillery on this list sits within an easy drive of Graz, and the map shows just how tightly the Vulkanland producers cluster in the south-eastern corner of the province. Use it to plan a loop from Riegersburg down to Bad Radkersburg, or to find Styria on the map before you set out. The orchards are at their best in late summer and autumn, when the new fruit comes in and the stills run hot.