Good mood, crazy incline

The vineyards of the Wohlmuth family from southern Styria are among the steepest in Europe. At the end of a year growing wine, Gerhard Wohlmuth may as well be a hobby mountaineer as he will have climbed about as many metres in altitude. However, the charming Styrian prefers to achieve the best results with his wines, because the winegrowing family is known for its constant top ratings in all the major wine guides. Especially when it comes to Sauvignon Blanc, they are undisputedly among the best in the world. Their winery covers a considerable size with 55 hectares of vineyards. Even more impressive, however, is the amount of work required per year: this amounts to 48 full-time jobs, 46 of which are needed in the vineyards. With a gradient of up to 90%, you won't get far with machines. Everything is done by hand. Anyone who is now imagining the Wohlmuths panting and groaning as they work is very much mistaken: the most frequently heard sound in the vineyard is Gerhard's resounding laughter.

«You need a lot of patience,» the winemaker admits, «not only because of going up and down the vineyard, but also because you're taking small steps over a long time. What I plant today will only really bear fruit in the next generation». The father of three sons is optimistic about the future, but he sees a big upheaval coming in the wine world: «The gap between industrial wine and artisanal wine will continue to widen.» Producing artisanal wine costs much more money and the costs will continue to rise. That's why lots of companies will soon have to decide what they want to rely on: machines or people? Mass production or wine as an art form? The Wohlmuth family only produces just under 300,000 bottles a year on their medium-sized farm. However, thanks to the consistent top quality and uniqueness of their products, their accounts work out. Much to the delight of all those people for whom wine is not simply a drink, but a cultural must-have.

Hardly any other island is as colourful as Sicily: be it the turquoise sea, the yellow lemons, the colourful textiles or the famous ceramics. The sunny island is always colourful, but never flashy. Or as Goethe put it during his Italian tour: "Italy without Sicily creates no image in the soul: here is the key to everything." The colours and flavours are a wonderful expression of the liveliness, friendliness and natural elegance that you experience in Sicily.

No wonder, it was a Sicilian winery that shook up the wine world in the 1980s with unusually colourful labels, poetic wine names and top quality: Donnafugata. At the same time, the Dolce & Gabbana fashion label similarly began providing welcome splashes of colour at international fashion shows. Domenico Dolce is Sicilian, and his homeland has always been the main source of inspiration for the luxury brand's globally celebrated Mediterranean aesthetic. Now the two pioneers have teamed up and have arrayed Donnafugata's red wine Tancredi in a Dolce & Gabbana outfit: it suits the gorgeous creation exceptionally well!

Here, opening the bottle becomes a ritual and every sip an experience. They say the best wine is the one you drink with your friends. True... if the wine is of high quality! What could be pleasanter than sitting around the table with your favourite people and bouncing ideas off each other? At times like this, anything seems possible. A carnivorous plant as a pet? Bathing in a wine barrel? A party in the attic? Welcome to the House of Wonders!

There are often great stories behind great wines. Rioja Amaren is a fine example of this fact: throughout her life, Ángeles Herrera worked tirelessly in the fields and in the family winery. With her determination and passion for wine, she played a decisive role in her husband Luis Cañas's decision to found his own winery in 1970. The two had recognised the potential of their vineyards – and no longer wanted to sell their grapes to the big wineries, but to produce high-quality wines themselves. And as a result, the Cañas family did pioneering work and became a role model for many other winegrowers in the region! Her son Juan Luis always admired Ángeles for her drive, approach to work, and her optimism. After her death in 1995, it was his heart's desire to found a winery in honour of his mother to produce the best Rioja wines. Old vineyards, ageing in cement tanks and a lot of heart and soul are the cornerstones for the exceptional quality of Bodegas Amaren wine.