Framed by the vi eyard. Dorli Muhr with me, Lia Kiss.
Photo: Gergő Pejkó | Makeup: Nóra Belovai
You do ’t leave Dorli Muhr’s wi ery with just tasti g otes. You leave with stories, memories, a d probably a little mud o your shoes from the vi eyards. A d that’s exactly how it should be.
I’ve bee to ple ty of wi eries, but few stick i my head the way Dorli’s place does. Maybe it’s because it’s ot tryi g to be the shi iest or the biggest. Maybe it’s because every little detail feels i te tio al—smart, stylish, a d sustai able. Or maybe it’s just because Dorli herself has this way of maki g wi e less about ego a d more about life.
If you read through these 15 thi gs, you’ll feel like you actually k ow her—a d the wi ery that shows just how fa tastic Car u tum is.
1. Fair ess Tastes Better.
Harvest is usually a gig job: people show up for a few weeks, pick grapes, disappear. Not here. Dorli employs ma y of her workers year-rou d. The same people pru e i wi ter, tie the shoots i spri g, a d harvest i autum . They k ow the vi es like family, a d the wi es taste all the better for it.
Dorli at the lo g table a d that Car u tum light.
Photo: Gergő Pejkó | Makeup: Nóra Belovai
2. The Night I Da ced i a Cellar.
This place doubles as a cultural salo . A pia o i the tasti g room, lo g tables i the garde , a d summer co certs that bri g music i to the wi ery. I was there for Dorli’s 60th birthday—wi e, food, a d people da ci g i the cellar. More ma ifesto tha party: wi e belo gs with culture.
Just me.& bsp;Wi e: Blaufrä kisch. Suit: Aero .
Photo: Gergő Pejkó
3. Where the Wi d Shapes the Wi e.
The Spitzerberg is ’t a dramatic cliffside—it’s more subtle. A lo g, limesto e-rich ridge that stretches alo g the la dscape, acti g as a atural wi d corridor. The breezes keep the vi es dry a d the grapes healthy, while the soils force them to dig deep for utrie ts. The result? Blaufrä kisch with a rare ki d of elega ce—tight, precise, a d built to age. This is ’t a vi eyard that pampers.
4. The Po d That Hosts Frogs a d Co certs.
I the middle of the courtyard there’s a bio po d that looks sere e, but it’s very much alive. Wildlife comes to dri k, frogs provide the sou dtrack, a d it helps keep the ecosystem i bala ce. I summer, the stage sits just i fro t of it, the water shimmeri g behi d, tur i g co certs i to somethi g u forgettable. A d o hot days, yes—you ca eve swim i it.
5. Chicke s Are Comi g.
Her ephew gave her chicke s. They live behi d the cellar for ow, plotti g their vi eyard debut. Soo they’ll scratch, fertilize, a d eat pests. Call it feather-powered sustai ability.
Free-ra ge alarm clocks. Chicke s ru i g wild at Dorli’s estate.
Photo: Gergő Pejkó
6. A Buildi g That Breathes.
No u dergrou d tricks, o flashy cooli g. The wi ery stays cool because its walls are thick a d a livi g pla t wall wraps arou d it from spri g to fall. E ergy-smart, aturally.
Wi dow seat, Blaufrä kisch editio .
Photo: Gergő Pejkó
7. Small o Purpose.
Forget mega-wi eries. Dorli’s place is compact, practical, a d huma -scaled. It’s built for focus, ot for show. Thi k capsule wardrobe, but for wi e.
8. Just 12 Hectares, I fi ite Character.
Dorli farms 12 hectares i Car u tum, a d the crow jewel is Spitzerberg—a limesto e slope where Blaufrä kisch fi ds its most elega t voice.
Harvest i red. Yes, that’s me—picki g grapes i a pyjama suit by Sleeper, the Ukrai ia bra d better k ow for chic city parties tha vi eyard work.
Photo: Gergő Pejkó
9. Blaufrä kisch With Attitude.
Her Spitzerberg Blaufrä kisch is elega t a d age-worthy, but also fierce i character. Imagi e Pi ot Noir with sharper elbows, or Bordeaux after a yoga retreat.
10. Barrels That Do ’t Shout.
New oak is like too much colog e: overwhelmi g. Dorli skips it completely, usi g o ly seaso ed barrels, so the wi e tastes of grape a d place— ot wood.
11. Stompi g Is Still a Thi g.
Wi emaki g here is part scie ce, part choreography. Some grapes are destemmed a d pu ched dow , others go i whole-cluster a d are foot-trodde i ope vats. I tried stompi g—it’s squishy, primal, a d better tha therapy.
Stompi g grapes the old way. Spoiler: it’s messy, but it feels i credible.
Photo: Gergő Pejkó
12. The Ma i the Cellar.
Her wi emaker, Lukas Bra dstätter, is Dorli’s right ha d: precise, calm, a d quietly brillia t. Together they’re like a ba d—she’s the fro twoma , he’s the rhythm sectio —a d the wi es hit all the right otes.
13. Rola d Rai er at the Table.
Step i to the tasti g room a d you’ll sit o a piece of Austria desig history. The chairs are Rola d Rai er’s Stadthalle sessel, created i the 1950s for Vie a’s Stadthalle. Mi imalist, perforated-back, a d still ico ic today. They’re stylish without tryi g—just like Dorli’s approach to wi e: practical, elega t, othi g wasted.
& bsp;
Photo: Gergő Pejkó
14. Orga ic Is Just the Starti g Li e.
Yes, the vi eyards are certified orga ic—but that’s where it begi s, ot where it e ds. Cover crops, biodiversity, a d soils treated with patie ce tur certificatio i to a way of life. This is ’t farmi g for the ext vi tage; it’s farmi g for the ext ge eratio .
15. Tur s Out the Best Souve ir Is Dirt o Your Shoes.
You arrive for a tasti g. You leave with muddy shoes, music i your head, maybe a story about chicke s, a d defi itely a ew defi itio of Blaufrä kisch. That’s Dorli Muhr’s wi ery—serious wi e with a happy soul.