Maria and Sepp Muster farm ten hectares of biodynamic vineyards in Schlossberg, above the village of Leutschach in Southern Styria, Austria. Sepp took over the estate from his parents, Theresa and Rudolf Muster, in 2000, and from the start the couple committed to biodynamic farming, shaped by years they had spent in India and Australia. Today they rank among the most influential natural wine producers in Austria, known for site-driven, skin-contact whites grown on the region's distinctive marl soil.
Backstory
The Muster estate carries a documented history reaching back to 1727, with vineyard layout plans dated to 1787. When Sepp inherited the farm from his father in 2000, he and Maria chose to break from conventional viticulture entirely. They converted the vineyards to biodynamics and earned Demeter certification in 2003. For the Musters the goal was never the label itself, whether organic, biodynamic, or permaculture, but a way of farming guided by observation and intuition. The next generation of the family is now part of the work as well.
The Region
Southern Styria, or Sudsteiermark, sits in the far south of Austria along the border with Slovenia. Its steep, forested hills and south-facing slopes are best known for Sauvignon Blanc and Morillon, the local name for Chardonnay, alongside Welschriesling, Weissburgunder, and Gelber Muskateller. The defining feature of the area is its soil: a calcareous marl the locals call Opok, a mix of limestone and clay that lends the wines their tension and salinity.
Vineyards and Farming
The Musters tend roughly ten hectares around Schlossberg, all farmed biodynamically and certified by Demeter since 2003. They work without synthetic inputs, relying on composts and biodynamic preparations, and treat the farm as a single living system rather than rows of vines. Vine age varies across the holdings, with the younger parcels feeding the Opok wines and older vines reserved for the estate's single-site cuvees.
Winemaking
Fermentations run on indigenous yeasts in large old wooden casks, with aging that typically lasts around twenty months. Depending on the cuvee the whites are pressed gently or given time on their skins, then bottled without fining and with little to no filtration. Sulfur additions are kept to a minimum. The result is a range of textural, mineral whites that express both the Opok soil and the character of the vintage.
The Wines
We currently carry two wines from the estate. The Maria and Sepp Muster Opok 2023 is a white cuvee of Sauvignon Blanc, Morillon, Welschriesling, Weissburgunder, and Gelber Muskateller from younger vines, pressed over four hours and aged twenty months in old oak. The Maria and Sepp Muster Sauvignon Vom Opok 2024 is a single-variety Sauvignon Blanc grown on limestone and clay, fermented with native yeasts in large wooden casks, aged twenty months, and bottled unfined and unfiltered.
