This time, we went on a special day trip to the Styrian Vulkanland. The destination of this interesting trip was the Zotter chocolate factory in Bergl near Riegersburg and a visit to the Gölles vinegar factory and distillery.
FRAUENTAL. In a good mood, but in rainy weather conditions, tour guide Alois Perko was able to welcome chairman Gerhard Fink, deputy Gerhard Koch and Gerhard Gratzer with their wives, as well as chauffeur Werner Kügerl in the middle.
The first destination was the Zotter chocolate factory, where an introductory, interesting film in the chocolate theater documented the history as well as the purchase of the required cocoa raw materials, right up to the processing into the various types of chocolate.
A cocoa journey in the Zotter adventure world
This journey took us to Peru, Nicaragua, Belize, Madagascar and India, the countries where Zotter sources the basis for its chocolate, cocoa, from local farmers.
With the “bean-to-bar production line”, Josef Zotter is one of the few quality chocolatiers in the world to have all the production processes of chocolate production in-house. From roasting the cocoa beans to rolling and finishing in the conching system, everything is done with the greatest sensitivity. Zotter is also one of the few chocolate manufacturers that produces bean-to-bar in 100% organic and fair quality!
During an exciting tasting tour with almost endless delights of liquid and finished chocolate, you could also follow the raw material warehouse as well as the individual production steps through a glass pane.
The visit to the Edible Zoo was limited because it was raining heavily, so we enjoyed coffee and cocoa in the cafe and used the time to do some shopping, with boss Josef Zotter personally greeting the Frauental pensioners.
Afterwards we went to the Lasslhof, located directly at the foot of the Riegersburg, where we had lunch.
Fruit processing
In the afternoon, the second sightseeing and tasting tour began. This time it was the Gölles vinegar factory and distillery in Riegersburg, which has been producing apple balsamic vinegar for 40 years now and the production and storage in the vinegar barrel cellars of numerous fine types of vinegar, as well as the production of fine spirits in the schnapps distillery, were shown. Tastings of fine spirits and liqueurs in the nostalgic schnapps cellar offered further insight into the various types of fruit processing.
Impressed by the variety of products, we gladly took the opportunity to do some shopping before returning to the starting point in Frauental in the late afternoon.
Chairman Gerhard Fink thanked Alois Perko, Gerhard Koch and Gerhard Gratzer for organizing the trip, chauffeur Werner for the safe journey and hoped to see each other again on the next trips.
