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WESTSTEIRISCHE ÖLMÜHLE
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The renowned gourmet guide Gault&Millau, with a distinguished jury led by Martina Hohenlohe, selected the best Styrian pumpkin seed oil for 2025/2026.
Gault&Millau has been committed to the quality of local products for years. This awareness is the foundation of high-quality culinary art.
After 26 years of continuous award-winning and seven Gault&Millau awards, our Styrian pumpkin seed oil has now been named BEST pumpkin seed oil 2026 with 1st place at Gault&Millau.
The Gault&Millau tasting took place for the 20th time this year. A panel of experts, including highly decorated chefs and sensory experts, evaluated the pumpkin seed oils based on predefined criteria.
The best Styrian pumpkin seed oils for 2025 were selected from over 500 submitted oils.
Only those Styrian pumpkin seed oils that have achieved full points in the last two consecutive state awards are eligible to participate.
Of these award-winning pumpkin seed oils, the 20 best competed again at the beginning of July.
So, a tough selection process on the way to the best pumpkin seed oil of the year!
The Hamlitsch oil mill from Deutschlandsberg in southwest Styria took first place!
Our Styrian pumpkin seed oil impressed the eleven member of the jury.
The tasting is based on the sophisticated rating system of the Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil PGI Association.
Twenty different pumpkin seed oils – including ten from the best farms and ten from the best oil mills – were evaluated in direct comparison based on the following criteria:
This year’s expert jury once again included top-class chefs, restaurateurs, and sensory expert Caroline Schlinter-Maltan.
Reinhold Zötsch (Managing Director of the Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil PGI Association) led the tasting.
None of this would be possible without our fantastic pumpkin seed oil crew. We thank our four press masters, Fritz, Grega, Roman, and Danijel. Gerlinde and Silvia, Monika, Sara, and Bianca from bottling/sales, cleaning, quality management, and the office also actively support our team.
We pursue our goal together, collectively:
Tradition and knowledge that’s been passed on over generations, combined with creativity, professionalism and love for our product.
>> Kürbiskernöl im Test – available until 27.08.2025
>> Kürbiskernöl: Der große Gault&Millau Test 2025
A prominent jury selected the winners from over 500 submitted oils.
West Styrian winner
>> Gault&Millau kürte das beste steirische Kürbiskernöl
For the 20th time, experts from the restaurant guide tasted the PGI pumpkin seed oil from Styrian farmers. A family business in western Styria took first place.
Gault&Millau prämierte bestes Steirisches Kürbiskernölg.g.A.
2025 has started off excellently for us:
After the 7th Gault&Millau award at the beginning of the year, our Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil PGI and our Styrian Organic Pumpkin Seed Oil PGI were awarded gold for the 26th time in a row at this year’s state awards ceremony.
Yay! 🥳🥳🥳
Awards one after the other, so to speak.
Bert Meckel summed it up perfectly with his lovely email on the occasion of our award this year:
“Such a top-quality product is unthinkable without a dedicated crew and the expertise of your press master.”
That’s true, and for that we are especially grateful. We are proud of our pumpkin seed oil crew!
“Congratulations on your 25-year success story!
It’s truly impressive to have been awarded for outstanding Styrian pumpkin seed oil for 25 consecutive years – an achievement that reflects not only quality, but also passion and commitment.
I would like to express my sincere praise for this, not only personally but also on behalf of my customers.
I have been buying your pumpkin seed oil for many years and can only say: The quality is unique, the taste incomparable, and the love of production is noticeable in every drop.
My customers are equally enthusiastic and appreciate the oil as a highlight in the kitchen – whether in salads, as a finishing touch to fine dishes, or simply on its own.
Such a top-quality product is unthinkable without a dedicated crew and the expertise of your master press operator. You have managed to maintain tradition and craftsmanship at the highest level for decades. I pay you the greatest respect for that.
I wish you continued success, enthusiasm, and, of course, many more years full of awards and satisfied customers. Thank you for creating such a brings a wonderful product into the world – I will happily recommend it and enjoy it!
Naturkost Meckel
Bert Meckel”
>> Here you can find the individual certificates for our Styrian pumpkin seed oil: Awards
In 2024, we received the special award for 25 consecutive years of receiving the award!
We were, of course, incredibly proud to receive this special award again. We had a permanent smile on our faces. 😉
This sustained success wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated employees, without our pumpkin seed oil crew. A heartfelt THANK YOU for that!
Because apart from the selection of pumpkin seeds, the press master requires a great deal of sensitivity to turn the pumpkin seeds into an award-winning Styrian pumpkin seed oil.
Our thanks go not only to our long-standing partners in agriculture and our team.
We would also like to thank Dr. Franz Siegfried Wagner from the Dr. Wagner Institute in Lebring-St. Margarethen.
After all, it was he who helped Styrian pumpkin seed oil grow.
Dr. Wagner commented on the occasion of the 25th state award ceremony:
“And it is also a special anniversary for me personally to have been able to professionally develop and support this special Styrian product for 25 years. From its first steps to its “growing up,” which it is now:
A business card and an identity product for Styria.”
More than 25 years ago, Dr. Wagner set out to examine the quality criteria and tasting procedures for olive oils.
Based on the approach used for olive oil, he developed parameters that can be used to describe and communicate the quality of pumpkin seed oil.
While this sounds simple, it was a long process. After all, olive oil can’t really be compared to pumpkin seed oil.
I’m sure you’ll agree.
At the annual state awards ceremony, the submitted pumpkin seed oils are examined in detail and evaluated according to the quality criteria developed by Dr. Wagner.
In contrast to popularity tastings, this tasting is conducted by an entire team of specially trained professional tasters.
“One pillar is the chemical-analytical pillar, where the laboratory tests whether the product meets European standards,” explains Wagner. “The second pillar is the sensory pillar, where evaluation is based on clearly defined quality parameters.”
First, the container containing the pumpkin seed oil is swirled repeatedly and the oil is carefully sniffed. Then it’s time to taste.
Slurping and smacking are expressly encouraged.
Through this so-called “smacking” of the pumpkin seed oil the delicate aromatics and the noble, nutty flavor of the pumpkin seed oil can truly spread across the palate and tongue.
Each pumpkin seed oil is tasted anonymously by two tasting panels.
The tasters of one panel discuss the freshness, purity, roasted notes, and consistency of the oil before the oil is tasted a second time. If there are significant deviations between the two, a third tasting is conducted.
In addition, the color of the pumpkin seed oil is assessed using a pumpkin seed oil testing device specially developed by the Dr. Wagner Institute, because Styrian pumpkin seed oil isn’t just green, as you might think.
Typical of Styrian pumpkin seed oil is a dark green color with a reddish shimmer.
No two pumpkin seed oils are alike. For a pumpkin seed oil to be awarded, all production steps from the field to the bottle must be perfect.
“You have to understand that the Styrian pumpkin seed has the memory of an elephant. It remembers everything from harvest to storage,” emphasizes Dr. Wagner.
These outstanding pumpkin seed oils can be recognized by the golden plaque “Award-Winning Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil Company 2025.”
And you can recognize the best of the best by the plaque “Award-Winning Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil Company Gault&Millau 2025/2026.”
We will, of course, affix this plaque prominently to every bottle! 😅
Our Styrian Pumpkin Seed Oil PGI and Styrian Organic Pumpkin Seed Oil PGI have been awarded again in 2025!
As experts in pumpkin seed oil, we also produce pumpkin seed oil for farmers on a contract basis.
With the same care, of course.
Together with our ambitious team, we combine tradition with professionalism and a love of our products. And you can taste it!
Then you’ll feel the same way as our valued customers:
“I feel the same way about pumpkin seed oil as I do about Loriot’s pugs: ‘A life without it is possible, but pointless.’ :))”
or
“… you have the best pumpkin seed oil anyway.”
“Dear Ms. Hamlitsch,
I wanted to give you some feedback on my last order.
It’s the best pumpkin seed oil I’ve eaten in the past 20 years, and it’s organic, too.
I’m really happy to have found your shop!
I even did a little tasting, and the other two organic oils in the same price range couldn’t keep up.
The round, harmonious, and full aroma of your oil, and especially the lingering, long finish, really impressed me. The oil is truly fantastic!
Congratulations on winning another award, it’s certainly more than deserved!
In any case, you have a loyal new customer in me.
Pumpkin seed oil is similar to Loriot’s pugs, “A life without it is possible, but pointless :))”
Unfortunately, I don’t want my name or initials published.
Best regards,
A loyal new customer”
“I would like to personally thank you again for the incredibly fast delivery—ordered yesterday at lunchtime and delivered today at lunchtime.
Thank you also for the little treat, the voucher, and the recipe booklets.
It’s always a pleasure to order from you—you have the best pumpkin seed oil anyway.
I can only warmly recommend you.
Happy sunny days, Nicole Jeckel-Ludwig from Burgenland.”
We are even more pleased by such customer feedback than by any award: because this is the most important recognition we can receive for our pumpkin seed oil.
Favorite customers,
THIS is EXACTLY what makes our green heart shine!
Proud green greetings
Ulrike und Guntram
samt dem besten Team.
P.S.: Celebrate with us: Enjoy the unique taste of Styrian pumpkin seed oil and let your soul unwind.
Close your eyes, smell the wonderfully nutty aroma of pumpkin seed oil, and take a mental trip to Styria.
Treat yourself and your guests to the unique taste of Styrian pumpkin seed oil PGI.
Hi, we are
We produce one of the best Styrian pumpkin seed oils out there for connoisseurs like you.
Our dream: To let the difference between your average pumpkin seed oil and our absolutely amazing Styrian pumpkin seed oil be noticed all the way to the last corner of the world.
We pour our heart and soul into our products and you will taste it.
Ready to get to know us some more?
Guided tours around our oil mill
experience & enjoy
From pumpkin seed to pumpkin seed oil:
Experience the fascinating journey from pumpkin seed to pumpkin seed oil and enjoy our products’ variety of flavours in the oil tasting afterwards.
Count in some insider tips from our pumpkin seed oil expert.
Hamlitsch GmbH & Co KG
Wirtschaftspark 28
AT-8530 Deutschlandsberg
Styria, Austria
Shop
Service
Company
Opening hours
Monday – Friday:
8.30 – 12.30 and 13.00 – 16.30
Saturday: 8.30 – 12.00
Please note:
January, February and March
closed on Saturdays
© 2025 Hamlitsch Ulrike
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Guided tours are available on the following days (closed on public holidays):
Monday, Wednesday 10.30 and 14.30
Tuesday, Friday 10.30
The tour is only booked with our confirmation!
Just give us a call or fill in the contact form and we’ll get back to you in no time!
Tel: 0043 3462 2386
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