After the Graz Marathon: The South Styrian Wine Road
The Route: Graz → Gamlitz → Leutschach → Graz → Graz Airport Logistics: About 45 minutes by car from Graz, or regional rail plus a taxi. The hills are steep, so a car or a booked taxi does the work between wineries. Marathon Month: October Duration: 1 night
Graz ──(about 45 mins by car, or regional train + taxi)──> Gamlitz ──(10 mins by road)──> Leutschach
│ │
└───────────────(rail or car back to Graz)────────────────◄────────────────────────────────┘
Graz Airport (GRZ) ◄──(S5 rail or bus 630)──┘
The Graz Marathon takes place in October, which is the wrong month for lakeside swimming and the right one for wine country. The South Styrian Wine Road runs along the Slovenian border through steep vineyards planted mostly with Sauvignon Blanc and Welschriesling, and the weeks after the race fall in the grape harvest. Many estates have their pickers out, and the vines turn yellow and red on the slopes. The wooden wind-driven rattles called Klapotetz, put up in the vineyards to scare starlings, are part of the scene. The drawback is that the roads between wineries are steep and winding, and legs that ran 42.195 km the day before will not enjoy them. Treat this as a trip you do by car or taxi.
October in South Styria: Buschenschank taverns, the simple farm inns that sell their own wine with cold platters, open on set days that differ by farm, and some close for a few weeks once the harvest peaks. Check each place's opening days before you plan a route. New wine, called Sturm, is typically on sale in the weeks after picking starts, though availability depends on the year.
Getting there
Graz Tourism puts the wine road at about 45 minutes by car in ordinary conditions. If you do not want to drive the day after a marathon, take a regional train south from Graz Hauptbahnhof towards Leibnitz and Spielfeld-Straß, then a local taxi into the hills. Check the timetable at oebb.at and verbundlinie.at, and book the taxi before you leave Graz, since rural stands may not have a car waiting. Hire cars at Graz Airport are a convenient alternative if you are flying out afterwards.
Night one: Gamlitz
Gamlitz is a wine village with a cluster of estates and restaurants. The Sattlerhof is a farm complex with a winery, a fine-dining restaurant, a Wirtshaus and a hotel. It is a straightforward choice for a single night because dinner and the bed are on the same property and no car is needed after dark. For something smaller, Lieperts in nearby Leutschach is a fine-dining restaurant and café with four guest rooms. Its menu service runs Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, with the café open on Friday to Sunday mornings, so check the day before you book.
If you stay overnight at a member business in Gamlitz, the local guest taxi can carry you between participating venues. It runs from 11:00 to midnight, with the last booking at 23:30, and your host books it rather than you. A minimum consumption of €30 applies at the venue where you eat or drink, which pays for the ride. Autumn is busy, so expect waits.
For a walk, keep it short. The lanes close to your hotel are the safest bet; the ridge roads between estates are steep and unpaved in places. At recovery pace, a loop of 2 to 3 km around the village is enough.
Where to eat
LILLI & JOJO is a small Wirtshaus in the Sulztal area of Gamlitz serving seasonal, regional multi-course menus with an open-air terrace. In October, expect game and pumpkin on Styrian menus, with pumpkin-seed oil on nearly everything. Bioweingut Otto Knaus in Sulztal is a Buschenschank with organic wines and a Brettljause, a board of cold meats, cheese and bread; it also does vegetarian and vegan versions. Confirm opening days before you go.
Getting home
Return to Graz Hauptbahnhof by regional train or car. For flights, Graz Airport (GRZ) is connected to the city by the S5 rail line and by bus 630, both in zone 101. If you hold a hire car, drop it at the airport rather than in the centre. Allow extra time on Sundays and public holidays, when regional rail runs less often.