Perched high above the surrounding countryside, guests of our hotel feel as if they rule the world, faced as they are with the overwhelming views which reveal themselves as they gaze out from Schloss Kapfenstein across the entire Styrian wine country.
It was back in 1065 that a mountain fortress was constructed here to fend off the armies of Asiatic horsemen. However, at least since the time when this fortress named after the Caphensteiner family came into the possession of the ancient Styrian patrician Winkler-Hermaden family, have things become increasingly peaceful in the environs of this romantic knight’s castle.
15 stylishly appointed guest rooms, including a Prince’s, Castle Court and Poet’s room, invite both young honeymooners, as well as all who appreciate the finer things, to awaken to vistas of the wine country and enjoy an extended stay in this small piece of heaven that we know as “Styria”.
Worthy of any historical comparison and true to the grandiose setting, the owners of the castle, the Winkler-Hermaden family, primarily serve up hearty traditional dishes. It is the outstanding products of the region which play an especially mouth-watering role in such dishes as cream of pumpkin soup, sirloin of young Styrian beef, leg of lamb or Kapfenstein pumpkinseed dumplings in elderberry sauce.
The accompanying wines from the medieval “Lions’ Cellar” of the family winery of Georg and Margot Winkler-Hermaden truly live up to the nobility of their surroundings.
The slopes of this long-extinguished lava dome are today amongst the best vineyards in all of Styria. Named after the green crystals in the volcanic rock, the “Olivin” Zweigelt not only became the first major red wine of the province, it has also remained one of Austria’s very best to this day. There is certainly no shortage of opportunities to sample one or more glasses of these wines, either beneath the vaulted ceilings, or out on the terraces of Kapfenstein. |
