Weingut Werlitsch

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Weingut Werlitsch, the family farm of Ewald and Brigitte Tscheppe, has become synonymous with some of the most profound and soulful white wines in the world. Werlitsch wines are not made to impress quickly. They reward attention, contemplation, and time. Sincere, harmonious, and quietly powerful, they remind the drinker that authenticity cannot be manufactured, and that great wine, like great farming, begins with humility and respect for the land.

Weingut Werlitsch is located in South Styria (Südsteiermark). Ewald Tscheppe took over his family property at just 26 years old and quickly emerged as one of the earliest and most uncompromising proponents of biodynamic viticulture in the region. The estate received Demeter certification in 2006, formalizing a philosophy Ewald has long articulated with a simple conviction: nature always does it better.

The estate encompasses roughly 18 hectares, with approximately 12 to 12.5 hectares planted to vines. Steep, rolling hills surround the winery, alongside forests, gardens, and pastures. Ewald and Brigitte focus primarily on a small selection of varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Morillon (a local biotype of Chardonnay), and Welschriesling. The diversity of elevations, expositions, and soils allows for a striking range of expressions. Central to Werlitsch’s identity is Opok, a chalky, calcareous marl formed from ancient seabed deposits. High in pH and notoriously difficult for roots to penetrate, Opok gives the wines their unmistakable tension, depth, and mineral authority. Nearly all vineyard work is done by hand, a necessity dictated by the estate’s dramatic, steep hillsides, many of which are inaccessible to tractors or machinery.

In the cellar, the same hands-off philosophy prevails. All fruit is hand-harvested and gently pressed. Fermentations occur spontaneously with native yeasts. The wines age in large neutral barrels and Austrian foudres. Fermentations can take many months, sometimes up to a year, and élevage typically lasts between 18 and 36 months. The wines are bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without added sulfites, unless absolutely necessary.

The heart of the portfolio is the Ex Vero range, Sauvignon Blanc–Morillon blends that articulate different expositions of the estate’s steep vineyards. Ex Vero I comes from the lower slopes of the hill, Ex Vero II from the mid-slopes, and Ex Vero III from the steepest and most extreme sites. These wines stand as pure expressions of place, precision, and restraint.

Alongside Ex Vero, the Tscheppes also bottle varietal wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Morillon, and Welschriesling, each deserving equal attention. In exceptional vintages, they produce skin-contact wines such as Glück and Freude—profound, deeply expressive bottlings that reflect both patience and trust in the process.