Trust the Plant, Trust Yourself

Franz Strohmeier's family became winegrowers when he was six years old, in the 1970s, in the rolling green hills of West Styria near the Slovenian border. [^148^] In the beginning, his parents mainly sold grapes to others. Franz attended wine school in Klosterneuburg, and in 1988 — as he was finishing his studies — the family began bottling their own wine. [^148^] For the first ten years, Franz made wine exactly as he had been taught: conventional, technically precise, indistinguishable from the thousands of other wines produced across Austria. [^148^]

The turning point came gradually. In 1996, he rented vineyards in the Sausal area of South Styria and farmed them with very little intervention — and still achieved good yields. [^148^] At the same time, he was drinking great wines from around the world and noticed a disturbing trend: due to modern techniques used in cellars everywhere, wines from nearly every region were starting to taste the same. [^148^] "I started to think that to make the most unique wine, one has to have only the grapes and vintage expression," Franz recalls. "To do the complete opposite of modern technical winemaking — add nothing, take nothing away through fining or filtering. And to do that with grapes grown without fertilisers and chemical treatments." [^148^]

Around this time, he connected with four other Styrian growers — Sepp & Maria Muster, Ewald Tscheppe, Andreas and Elisabeth Tscheppe, and Roland Tauss — to form the "Schmecke das Leben" (Taste Life) collective. [^148^] This group became his greatest influence, an invaluable space to exchange experiences with like-minded peers who shared his desire to strip wine back to its essence. In 1999, after building his own cellar, Franz planted more vineyards and turned fully to organic farming in 2003. [^148^] His first zero-sulfur sparkling wine was born in 2005, and in 2007 he established the "Trauben, Liebe & Zeit" range — a name that encapsulates his entire philosophy. [^148^] [^151^]

Today, Franz is Demeter-certified biodynamic, though he sees certification as a beginning rather than an end. [^150^] [^160^] He has become a spiritual leader in the natural wine world — not because he seeks followers, but because his conviction is so absolute, his wines so distinctive, and his presence so warm that people cannot help but be moved. [^148^] [^155^] As one importer wrote after tasting at RAW Wine: "The room went silent. It was like I was wrenched from my reality, transported to another dimension where soil and air are turned directly into liquid emotions and feelings." [^155^]

Franz Strohmeier's cellar philosophy is the most radical in Austrian natural wine — and among the most radical in the world. All wines are fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts. [^149^] [^151^] He adds zero sulfur to his wines — an extraordinarily difficult feat that requires immaculate fruit, pristine cellar hygiene, and a winemaker willing to accept the risk of instability in exchange for absolute purity. [^149^] [^152^] The wines are never filtered or fined. [^149^] What emerges from this hands-off approach are wines of shocking stability and complexity — wines that can be kept open for weeks and continue to evolve, developing new flavours and dimensions with each passing day. [^151^]

The portfolio is organised into distinct lines that express Franz's experimental, philosophical approach: [^148^] [^149^] [^150^]

"Trauben, Liebe & Zeit" (Grapes, Love & Time): The flagship range. Zero-sulfur wines that are a pure expression of vintage and terroir. The name itself reflects Franz's minimalist philosophy — these wines are made with nothing but grapes, love, and time. [^148^] [^151^] Each bottle is a meditation on patience and trust.

Schilcher & Lys-rød: Made from Blauer Wildbacher — the native red grape of West Styria — these are the traditional light red/deep rosé wines of the region. "Schilcher" is the local name; "Lys-rød" ("light red") is the Danish name Franz adopted, reflecting his strong relationship with the Danish market and the wine's luminous character. [^149^] [^150^]

Sparkling Wines: Franz produces a range of zero-sulfur sparkling wines, including Pet-Nats and traditional-method Sekts from Blauer Wildbacher and white varieties. [^149^] [^151^] His first zero-sulfur sparkling wine in 2005 was a breakthrough that proved stability without sulfur was possible.

Orange & Skin-Contact Wines: The "Cat-silver" and other orange wines are made from Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and blends with extended skin contact, creating textured, aromatic, and deeply savoury expressions. [^150^] The "Mash" wines push boundaries with co-fermentation and skin contact, creating wines of intriguing tertiary complexity. [^155^]

Franz's approach to bottling is as intuitive as his farming. "I feel that the most important thing is that the wines and myself are in a 'peace of mind' state," he says. "When you're mindful and the feeling is good, bottling will work properly as well." [^148^] He stopped drinking wine around ten years ago due to a pancreas condition, but he still enjoys a small sip of lively wine with personality — which, for him, is nearly always wine made without additives. [^148^] This abstinence has not diminished his connection to wine; if anything, it has deepened it, allowing him to approach his craft with a clarity and detachment that conventional winemakers rarely achieve.