The Rauch family in St. Peter am Ottersbach focuses on down-to-earthness in all aspects of life. This includes, of course, a natural cultivation of the vineyards and the recollection of traditional values such as family, diligence and human cooperation. In addition to quality wine, gin and cigars are also produced.
Vines create pleasure
The Rauch family's wine farm is located at about 360 meters above sea level in St. Peter am Ottersbach, more precisely on the southeast Styrian hill country wine route on the picturesque Perbersdorfberg. In the cellar of the Rauch family ripen varietal top wines such as the classic Welschriesling, the nutty Pinot Blanc, the full-bodied Chardonnay, the powerful Sauvignon Blanc, the delicate Rivaner or the fragrant Sämling 88. What has already started well in the vineyard is continued in the cellar. The Rauch family processes the carefully selected and hand-picked grapes into classic Styrian wines with unique aromas.
Rauch's gin
At Weinhof Rauch in the volcanic region of Styria, the emphasis is on the highest quality for all products. Thus, in addition to high-quality wines and cigars, the decision was made to raise the farm's schnapps production to a special level of quality with a new small-cap distillery. The first noble brandy is a gin - the "Dry" with an intense juniper aroma and the "Premium Dry" with an even more intense juniper and more pronounced citrus aroma.
Cigars Rauch - Homecoming of Tobacco Cultivation in Styria
Young winemaker Johannes Rauch lives up to his name - "Ostarrichi" is the first cigar with 100 percent tobacco from Austria. For several years, the winemaker has been reviving the tradition of tobacco cultivation in Styria. Even his grandfather had grown tobacco in Sankt Peter am Ottersbach, but stopped doing so. However, he was not alone in this - half of Austria had already been supplied with smoked goods from Styria since Habsburg times.
Johannes' grandfather Alois Rauch grew tobacco at the southeast Styrian vineyard until 1980. This tobacco was then bought by the Austrian Tobacco Board, which was set up in Habsburg times, and used to produce the Großglockner cigar. The farmers were allowed to grow tobacco, but it had to be delivered in its entirety to the Tobacco Board. And now, after several decades, the young entrepreneur has become the first company in Austrian history, and what he is particularly proud of, also the first farmer, to obtain all the permits that at Weinhof Rauch can be made everything from cultivation to refining to the finished cigar.
Two types of tobacco are used for the "Ostarrichi" cigars - Corso and Havana. The cigars are rolled as a so-called longfiller cigar - this is the most noble form of production. Only whole leaves are rolled by hand. The result is a somewhat thicker double corona with a ring gauge of 56 (22 millimeters in diameter) and a length of 15 centimeters. After rolling, the cigar is left to mature for about a year. A cigar made from 100 percent natural tobacco - without additives - with a smoking time of about one and a half hours. The next step: The blend of the noble tobacco leaves is soon to be launched on the market as pipe tobacco.