Vineyard (location) in the cadastral community of Pössnitz, municipality of Leutschach an der Weinstraße in the Austrian wine-growing region of southern Styria. However, only the southernmost part of this cadastral municipality is designated as Pössnitzberg, which lies directly adjacent to Slovenia. The rocky and extremely steep vineyards, surrounded by meadows and forests, provide a sustainable habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna. Different climates come together: warm updrafts from the neighbouring Slovenian valleys and cool air currents from the Koralpe to the west. The large differences in temperature result in enormous depth of fruit and a variety of flavours in the wines.
From a geological perspective, the Pössnitzberg is located in the south-western Styrian sea basin, where marine deposits up to several thousand metres thick were formed around 16 million years ago. These fine marine sediments, known as Styrian Schlier, are mostly grey-green coloured, calcareous clay marl/shale with sand deposits, leaf fossils and charcoal residues. Characteristics of the highly calcareous soils are the humus-rich topsoil, which is often only 20 centimetres high due to weathering, and the firm calcareous marl sedimentary rock. This special type of soil is known as Opok in Styria. It allows deep penetration of the vine roots and thus a good water supply.
The predominantly south-facing basin sites with eastern and western foothills lie at an average altitude of 400 to 450 metres above sea level. Most of them have a slope inclination of 50 metres, in some areas up to 75% (37°). The Krepskogel and Römerstein are sub-peaks. The terroir is ideal for the white wine varieties Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay or Morillon and Gelber Muskateller, which are mainly cultivated here. The wineries Brolli-Arkadenhof, Sabathi Erwin, Tschermonegg and Tscheppe am Pössnitzberg ( Polz family), for example, have shares in the Pössnitzberg.
