With the apple balsamic vinegar. It's the classic that goes with almost everything: over salad, with cheese, a few drops on steak. If you prefer a fruity-fresh start, choose the raspberry vinegar. Both are very forgiving and quickly show what a good vinegar can do.

A vinegar whose fruit juice is boiled down before fermentation and then aged for years in oak barrels. The sweetness comes exclusively from the fruit; nothing is added. Classic balsamic vinegar is made from grapes. Alois Gölles made the first one from apples in 1984. Today, apple, pear, and wine are aged in barrels with us.

Gölles is certified as an organic farm, controlled by Austria Bio Garantie. This means we are allowed to work with certified organic quality. It does not mean that every single product bears the organic seal. You can see whether a certain variety is certified on the label and on the product page. There are reasons why some varieties deliberately do not bear a seal, and we state them openly.

Some fruits are rarely available in certified organic quality. Old apple varieties, for example, that grow on individual trees in gardens and come to us in small quantities.

Then there's the origin. Even in conventional cultivation, Austria has some of the strictest plant protection regulations in Europe. We prefer fruits from farmers we know to certified goods transported to Riegersburg from far away.

Where a conversion is justifiable for us, we undertake it. We continue to work on this. Where a seal would be the worse choice compared to regionality and trust, we do without it.

Yes. Riegersburg in Styrian Volcanoland is home to Austria's largest vinegar barrel cellar, housing around 1,400 oak barrels. There's an adventure tour with an audioguide in several languages and guided tours with tastings. Tastings are unlimited. Afterwards, you'll better understand the price on the label.