Austria · Kamptal

Weingut Steininger

A Langenlois family estate making bottle-fermented Kamptal Sekt from Grüner Veltliner and Riesling since 1989.

The producer

Weingut Steininger in Langenlois turns Kamptal Grüner Veltliner and Riesling into bottle-fermented sparkling wine, alongside still-wine work. The base wine carries fruit, acidity and body before its second fermentation in bottle builds mousse, making the vineyard wine beneath the bubbles central to every Sekt.

Karl and Brigitta Steininger shifted the inherited farm towards grape growing after 1980, then launched the winery in 1989 with sparkling wine already in view. Reserve Sekt shows each grape in a dry, fruit-led frame, while Riesling Ried Heiligenstein Große Reserve adds acacia-cask élevage and lees ageing for more layered citrus, oak, mousse and length.

Known for

Bottle-fermented Kamptal Sekt from Grüner Veltliner and Riesling.

Notable facts

The story

From Farm To Sparkling Winery

In 1980, Karl Steininger inherited the family farm. He and Brigitta Steininger redirected its work towards grape growing, changing the farm before there was a winery carrying the family name. Nine years later, in 1989, they launched Weingut Steininger and began making bottle-fermented sparkling wine from the outset. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling became the principal Kamptal grapes in the family’s work, appearing as still wines and as the base wines for Sekt. Sparkling wine grew into a main pillar of the business. Since 2021, Eva Steininger has managed sales, marketing and administration, while Peter works with Karl across the vineyards and cellar.

From the atlas

Weingut Steininger

At A Glance

Weingut Steininger is a family winery in Langenlois, in Austria’s Kamptal region. Karl and Brigitta Steininger own the estate; their daughter Eva has managed sales, marketing and administration since 2021, while Peter works with Karl in the vineyards and cellar. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are the family’s principal grapes, but bottle-fermented sparkling wine has been central since the winery opened in 1989.

The Producer

Karl Steininger inherited the family farm in 1980 and, with Brigitta, shifted its work towards grape growing. When the winery launched nine years later, it began making bottle-fermented sparkling wine as well as still wine. That early commitment matters in the current range: Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are not simply Kamptal grapes here; they are also the base wines beneath Steininger’s bubbles.

Place

Langenlois gives Steininger a Kamptal home for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. The two grapes provide different starting points for the range: Grüner Veltliner appears in a Reserve Sekt, while Riesling moves from Reserve Sekt to a vineyard-named Ried Heiligenstein Große Reserve. The place therefore appears through grape and site rather than through a single house style.

Soil And Site

The estate’s vineyard material sets out soil and climatic detail for its single-vineyard sparkling wines, while the named Ried Heiligenstein bottling keeps a particular Riesling site separate from the Reserve wines. That distinction has a practical consequence in the cellar: a vineyard wine can receive its own élevage and lees ageing rather than being presented as a general Reserve blend.

Story

The estate’s decisive turn came after Karl inherited the farm in 1980. He and Brigitta focused it on grape growing, then launched the winery in 1989. Bottle-fermented sparkling wine was present from that opening year and has become a main pillar of the business, so the family’s move from farm to winery also created a range in which the quality of the still base wine remains crucial.

Vineyards And Cellar

Steininger’s sparkling wines begin as still base wines before their second fermentation in bottle. The estate’s regional profile stresses that this first wine must already have shape and quality, because bubbles cannot replace the fruit, acidity and structure beneath them. The method places vineyard decisions at the centre of the finished mousse rather than treating sparkling wine as a separate exercise.

For Riesling Ried Heiligenstein Große Reserve Sparkling Wine 2016, the cellar work is more specific: Riesling receives élevage in acacia casks, then bottle fermentation and lees ageing. Acacia and lees contact add layers beyond primary citrus fruit, while the bottle-fermentation route builds mousse and a longer finish around the wine’s acidity.

The family also developed méthode Elementar, a no-dosage sparkling method that relies exclusively on the grape’s natural sugar. With no dosage added after disgorgement, the fruit and acidity of the base wine carry the dry shape of the finished bottle.

Wines

The range has three useful levels. Reserve Sekt gives Grüner Veltliner and Riesling their own sparkling expressions: the 2022 Grüner Veltliner Reserve Sekt places the grape’s fruit, acidity and mousse in a current-release format, while the 2023 Riesling Reserve Sekt shifts the emphasis to Riesling’s aromatic fruit and dry structure.

Above those wines sit single-vineyard sparkling bottlings, where a named Ried carries the vineyard through to the label. Riesling Ried Heiligenstein Große Reserve Sparkling Wine 2016 is the clearest documented example: Riesling, acacia-cask élevage, bottle fermentation and lees ageing bring site and cellar together in one wine. Méthode Elementar adds a separate no-dosage path, where the finish is shaped without added dosage.

In The Glass

Across the Reserve wines, the essential contrast is grape-led. Grüner Veltliner Reserve Sekt brings fruit and acidity into a dry, sparkling frame; Riesling Reserve Sekt brings Riesling fruit into the same bottle-fermented format. In both, the base wine supplies the body and acidity while the second fermentation supplies mousse.

The Heiligenstein Riesling moves into a more layered register. Acacia-cask ageing and lees contact bring oak and lees elements around Riesling fruit, while bottle fermentation keeps the palate lifted by mousse and acidity. Its professional review describes the 2016 as invigorating and long-lasting, two qualities that fit a wine built around Riesling’s drive and extended lees ageing.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Riesling Ried Heiligenstein Große Reserve Sparkling Wine 2016. It is a vineyard-named Riesling made through bottle fermentation, with acacia-cask élevage and lees ageing before release. The wine brings Riesling fruit, acidity, mousse, lees character and a long finish into one bottle; its 2016 review describes it as invigorating and long-lasting. It is the most complete view of how Steininger turns a Kamptal grape and a named Ried into sparkling wine.

Anecdote

Karl Steininger inherited the family farm in 1980. He and Brigitta redirected the operation towards grape growing, changing the farm’s work before a winery existed under the family name. In 1989 they launched Weingut Steininger, and bottle-fermented sparkling wine was part of its work from that first year. The decision did not leave sparkling wine at the edge of the range: it became a main pillar of the business, alongside the family’s Grüner Veltliner and Riesling vineyards. Four decades after the inheritance, Eva manages sales, marketing and administration, while Peter works with Karl across the vineyards and cellar.

Final Word

Steininger is worth following for the meeting of Kamptal Grüner Veltliner and Riesling with a bottle-fermented sparkling programme begun in 1989. The Reserve wines show the grapes in sparkling form; the Heiligenstein Riesling carries that work into a vineyard-named, lees-aged bottle.

Sources

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