“Austrian wines, sir? Certainly …” Store manager Allyson showed me to a shelf of Yellowtail Chardonnays and Sauvignons. No, I reply, no kangaroos. She smiled vaguely and leads me unerringly to a small but decent collection of Alsatian wines, from the border region on the Rhine in eastern France. Aha. I had already spotted a simple […]
Burgenland covers many microclimates and qualities of terroir, resulting in a richness of wines just a short hop from downtown Vienna. A rough wooden table at the top of an ancient Kellergasse, a flagon of the farmer’s wine flanked by plates of local hams and cheeses, and a long perspective over Breitenbrunn’s magnificent gate tower to […]
The 2018 Austrian wines are defined by last year’s long summer and sweltering temperatures. Like love and moonlight, wine and sunshine go hand in hand, but too much of a good thing can be as harmful as too little. Many of the world’s best wines have always come from cooler climes, with Champagne and Burgundy […]
Other winemakers may follow the méthode champenoise, but the aristocrats of bubbly still define the market. Procedures can be copied; the magic is more difficult. Crémant, Sekt, Prosecco, Frizzante – as long as it’s bubbly. Well perhaps. But no one will deny the mystique of real champagne, the roster of great names like ancient royal […]
Lower Austria’s Thermenregion is home to several signature varieties, as remarkable as they are rare. In a wine world dominated by a limited number of superstar grapes like Austria’s Grüner Veltliner, it is illuminating to talk to a vintner who keeps old favorites alive. “Two hundred years ago, Zierfandler and Rotgipfler were among the most […]
The Weinbauschule Klosterneuburg continues to innovate new grape varieties. Austrian wine lovers all know Zweigelt, the quintessential Austrian red wine and the foundation grape of the Neusiedlersee DAC. Undemanding, Zweigelt wines can range from young, fruit-rich daily quaffs to complex, barrique-matured regional specialties. The eternal Austria grape…except that Zweigelt didn’t exist before 1922. It’s the […]
This year’s VieVinum showcases the best of Austria and introduces little known Swiss and Dalmatian wines at the Hofburg from June 9 to 11. Wine fairs are like gallery openings, clusters of trendy urbanites chatting at high tempo and knocking back quantities of wine. The difference is that at a Vernissage, it is practically de rigeur […]
From the Wachau’s Grüner Veltliner to Vienna’s Gemischter Satz, Austrian wines have reinvented themselves onto the global stage. In the theater of wine, Austria is a character actor. It’s not France, not Italy or Spain – the top three – who together produce almost half of all the world’s wine. But a player it is all the same, offering a […]
