Wine from Grassnitzberg in south Styria. Soils of sea sand with shell limestone set the tone. The brothers Christian and Thomas Polz convey this in their wines, and enliven it with their own personal touch. The results are exquisite Sauvignons and Muscatels with great aging potential. September, 2020 CONTENTS The Primus Winery ......................................................................................................................... 3 The Brothers Christian & Thomas Polz............................................................................................ 5 Primus-Christian Polz | Cellar Master......................................................................................... 5 Primus-Thomas Polz | Viticulturist ............................................................................................. 5 South Styria ................................................................................................................................... 7 1. The South-Styrian Climate ................................................................................................ 8 2. The South-Styrian Soils .................................................................................................... 9 The South-Styrian Wine Quality Pyramid......................................................................................... 10 DAC South Styria ........................................................................................................................... 11 Slovenia ......................................................................................................................................... 12 The Primus Soils and Vineyards ..................................................................................................... 13 1. Ried Grassnitzberg ........................................................................................................... 13 2. Zieregg ............................................................................................................................. 14 3. Ciringa (Zieregg) ............................................................................................................... 14 4. Kresnica (Hochgrassnitzberg) ........................................................................................... 15 Varieties & Varietal Makeup ............................................................................................................ 16 Our Buschenschank (wine tavern) .................................................................................................. 18 Accomodation at the Winery. .......................................................................................................... 18 Our Trading Partners ...................................................................................................................... 19 Austria ...................................................................................................................................... Fehler! Textmarke nicht definiert. Export....................................................................................................................................... 19 Mentions & Ratings ........................................................................................................................ 20 Contact .......................................................................................................................................... 22 Press Contact ................................................................................................................................ 22 PRIMUS WINERY Press Kit 2020 2 THE PRIMUS WINERY “Just like our wines, we ourselves are deeply rooted in this region. We would like to convey this down-to-earth nature, this groundedness and handmade character in our wines.“ Christian & Thomas Polz The brothers Christian and Thomas Polz have been running their sixteen-and-a-half-hectare estate in Graßnitzberg, southern Styria since 1998. Then just eighteen and twenty-three years old, they took over the business due to the early death of their father. From the beginning, their responsibilities were clearly divided: cellar master Christian Polz takes care of the development of the wines, and viticulturist Thomas Polz is responsible for the vineyards and the marketing. Many tasks are intertwined, and that is a good thing. These brothers work hand in hand, especially when it comes to winemaking. They would like to keep the winery at its current size in order to remain true to their manual, hands-on working methods. In this respect, they are not striving for further growth. The estate received its current name in 1985, when it was converted into a winery with three hectares of vineyards and an attached wine shop. Martha and Primus Polz, the parents of the Polz brothers and the owners and at that time, acquired another nine and a half hectares of vineyard in their region and four more in the "Lower Styria" wine region in nearby Slovenia over the following years. The reasons for this acquisition were the excellent locations, the optimal orientation of these vineyards, and their geographical proximity. The best argument, however, was the predominant shell limestone and Opok1 (calcereous marl) soils. These sites offer excellent characteristics for great wines, and are located both on the Slovenian side of the Hochgrassnitzberg mountain (Kresnica), and on the Zieregg side, (Ciringa). The soils in our Styrian vineyards consist mainly of tertiary sea sands with a weathered shell limestone subsoil, and medium to deep calcareous and loamy shell limestone soils with an adequate water supply. 1 Gray marl (a mixture of limestone and loam) PRIMUS WINERY Press Kit 2020 3 A Short History "Since 1884" is written at the top of the winery's labels. That’s when Anton Polz, the great-great- grandfather of current winemakers Christian and Thomas Polz, acquired a mixed-use agricultural operation that was common at that time. For many years, wine was only one of several sources of income alongside cattle breeding and crop cultivation, as well as a shop in the middle of the village. In 1931, Anton Polz skipped direct succession and handed over the business to his grandson Johann Polz, who continued to run it as a mixed farm. The son of Anton Polz, Johann Polz senior, had married a neighboring winemaker in his second marriage and founded the Polz Winery together with their son Reinhold. The Winery’s Founder. Primus Polz, the son of Johann Polz junior, took over the farm together with his wife Martha Polz in 1985. He had graduated from the viticulture school in Silberberg, and decided to become a winemaker. One hectare of vineyards was already part of the agricultural estate, and Primus planted two more. The couple decided to create a purely winemaking operation and named it Primus Polz Winery. At the same time they founded a wine shop and built a rustic wine tavern (a Buschenschank) with guest rooms in a 450-year-old house on the estate. Primus Polz died in 1998. In 1998 the still very young brothers Christian and Thomas Primus took over the winery, renaming it Primus Winery, and over the years they have made it into one of the leading wineries in southern Styria. Some of the wines from their Slovenian vineyards are still marketed under the name Primus Polz. Management of the Buschenschank is still in the hands of Martha Polz, a hostess and innkeeper for the love of it. This enthusiasm is shared by Elisabeth Polz, the sister of Christian and Thomas, which is why she returned home after completing her apprenticeship as a commercial clerk and joined the Buschenschank business. PRIMUS WINERY Press Kit 2020 4 THE BROTHERS CHRISTIAN & THOMAS POLZ Actually, everything was planned quite differently. The brothers were still at school, and wanted to travel and to see the world. The early death of their father brought them back home to the winery unexpectedly. The decision to simply run the winery together did not require any thought – even though they lacked practical experience in winemaking. Learning by doing was the order of the day. Today they are well on the right track, even if the brothers still think they still have a way to go. They make decisions together, but in the meantime they have clearly structured and allocated their own areas of responsibility. Primus-Christian Polz | Cellar Master Christian Polz, born in 1979, graduated from the winemaking school in Klosterneuburg. After receiving his diploma, he went to South Africa for an internship at the Rust en Vrede Winery. Upon returning to his family’s winery, he took over the position of cellar master at the age of 19, and had to fill this role very quickly to ensure the economic success of the business. His support came above all from his family. In the cellar, he attaches particular importance to bringing the soil to life in the wine. This requires as little intervention as possible, and more a careful accompaniment rather than targeted shaping in a desired (flavor) direction. Maturation time is another important factor in the cellar. Even wines that are to be drunk fresh and young should also be allowed to rest before they are sold. Even before the introduction of the Styrian wine quality pyramid, their single-site vineyard wines were only brought to market in the autumn of the year following their harvest. “I want to produce fine, nuanced wines with character and longevity. They should convey their origin and our particular South-Styrian limestone soils.“