Elias Muster
Burgundy

Elias Muster is the son of Maria (nee Tscheppe) and Sepp Muster, pioneers of biodynamic farming back in the 1980's and one of the most respected natural winemakers in Austria.

At the age of 14 Elias was enrolled into Silberberg, the secondary technical School for Agriculture and Forestry. Unlike other countries, Austria treats viticulture and oenology as a highly respected technical trade. The schooling combines high school studies plus curriculum covering winemaking, chemistry, vineyard management, soil science, biology, and international wine business over five years. 

Upon returning home in 2022 to work with his parents, Sepp offered Elias (who was 19 at the time) a 1-hectare parcel from the family estate for his own project, an apprenticeship of sorts. This hectare would allow him to trial ideas, both in the vineyard and winery, and hone his winemaking skills on his own terms. 

The Muster’s farm 10 hectares of vines in Leutschach, Südsteiermark, the southernmost part of Styria bordering Slovenia.

Elias’s hectare is planted to 0.7 ha Sauvignon Blanc and 0.3 ha Gelber Muskateller, the vines 25 years of age. The steep slope; 450 meters at its base to 480 meters at the road, is in the valley and protected from the alpine winds.

The terroir is blue opok, a dense, mineral rich calcareous marl composed of limestone clay and silt. A signature of Südsteiermark, opok brings a distinctive minerality and texture, especially to Sauvignon Blanc. 

Travels, including to Australia for harvest, have given Elias the opportunity to look at different terroirs, philosophies and approaches to fermentations. He has approached these with an open mind and curiosity, always thinking of how these methods could be trialled or implemented at home. 

An example occurring in 2025 when Elias opened the soil on every second row, this was the first time the soil had been turned in ten years. The aim to get more nitrogen into the earth, it also provided a greater understanding of the vineyard, highlighting sections that were very rocky and others where there was deep topsoil. 

The fruit is hand harvested with the selection process made in the vineyard. In the cellar Elias incorporates whole clusters (Muster is all de-stemmed), ferments are with indigenous yeasts only and the fermentations are slow and gentle. His small cellar, separate to his families, is located under his grandmother’s house overlooking his vineyard. Here the wines rest in used barrels for 12 to 24 months. Prior to release the wines have an additional 12 months in bottle.

The depth and detail in his wines is remarkable for someone so young. His parents are there for advice, but this project is about Elias shining his own light.