Karl and Eva make wine on the slopes of the Sausal mountain in South Styria, in a house that started life as a roadside inn run by Karl’s grandfather. When his mother married a man from the far side of the mountain who owned vineyards, the family took over the inn and poured their own wine. Not a bad business plan, and a romantic one too.

Since 1998 Karl and Eva have farmed those steep vineyards the old way, with no chemical pesticides or fertilisers, ever. Sprays are kept to a bare minimum of sulphur and kaolin, plus tisanes of nettle, horsetail and yarrow that Karl brews up himself. The five hectares are scythed by hand, which takes serious stamina. The soils are older than the Alps, all weathered schist, silica and quartz with no limestone or clay, which is a real rarity. When we visited in March, things were already buzzing with life, and Koregg had an almost Mediterranean feel, with wild thyme everywhere.

Hochegg, Koregg and Kreuzegg have been gradually replanted with Blaufränkisch, Pinot Noir, Morillon (Chardonnay) and Rotburger. Everything is vinified by parcel and variety, with whites and reds macerated for the length of fermentation, then aged in old oak for a year or more. No sulphur dioxide at any stage, and the bottles are rinsed in spring water and filled by hand.