Why it matters
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.
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.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
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.
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.
In the cellar
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.
Wines to know
The range in view
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.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
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.