Genussregal, a shelf for giants in South Styria

Styria is one of the Austrian federal states, known for its quality wines and good food. An approximately 25 km long road between the small towns Ehrenhausen and Leutschach, also known as the South Styrian Wine Road, leads through a large wine-growing region of South Styria. Anyone travelling on Austria's southernmost wine route will have an opportunity to get to know the extraordinary wines. Very important spot on this route is a shop called "Vinofaktur", with its unique installation "Genussregal", which looks like a shelf for giants.

What is it?

Vinofaktur is a shop with a wide selection of regional wines and delicacies from South Styria, that includes an exhibition area and a wine bar. The store itself is huge. On an area of almost three football pitches of retail space, you can choose from more than 2,500 different products. In the shop, there are over one million bottles stored, and permanent free tastings of wines and culinary products are available for visitors.

Genussregal: an architectural masterpiece

A unique installation, as the part of the project Genussregal (pleasure shelf), was opened in 2011 making Vinofaktur even more interesting for visitors. This 60 meters long and 12 meters high installation was planned by a renowned Viennese architecture firm BWM Architekten und Partner and is unique in its size and shape. The overseas containers were stacked in a way as if it was a mighty shelf. The inscriptions and paintings of the containers refer to regional Styrian products. The Genussregal is at the same time a landmark and an exhibition hall connected with the shop and warehouse. 

Exhibition: This is how Styria tastes like

Genussregal includes the exhibition "This is how Styria tastes like", that you can visit for a fee of seven euros. The South Styrian Wine and Culinary Exhibition is dedicated to the delights of the region and shows how the high-quality raw products are processed into unique foods, using special production processes. A visitor can experience a virtual ride on the cyber moped through the southern Styrian vineyards. The journey on a moped becomes increasingly rough as the alcohol consumption increases. Additionally, the exhibition includes 40 tasting stations, where you can try the products from different manufacturers such as Styrian pumpkin seed oil, nibbles in many flavours - roasted and salted, curry and chocolate mint, various oils - sunflower oil, walnut oil, cuvée oil hazelnut thistle or cuvée oil almond poppy, volcano ham, chutneys different kinds pumpkin, pesto, etc.

Vinofaktur with Genussregal is located in a small town Vogau in South Styria. You can reach it easily by car because it is just a few kilometres from the motorway. For those who appreciate good wine and quality food, with a flair of modern art in the form of a shelf for giants, Genussregal is a must-see.