BUDAPEST - Business Traveller

Austria
It’s Not the Way You Think…
Throughout the years we have associated Austria only
with the Wiener schnitzel and chocolate gateaux. Recently,
however, it has focused on the quality, and gained an
important place on the oenological map of Europe.
of the world’s wine
lands are located away
from the big metropolises.
However, Austria is an
�Most
exception to the rule. The
three most interesting wine regions are
situated on the rocky hills overlooking
Vienna - Wachau, Styria and Burgenland.
The view is stunning. When walking
among the steep vineyards near
Krems, you will see the Prater’s big wheel
and The Kunsthistorisches Museum. But
there’s much more to Austrian vineyards
than just the panorama. The producers
have decided to lower the effi ciency to increase
the quality of wine. Among many
grape varieties grown here, the most precious
is white Gruner Veltiner. That’s because
Gruner has absolutely unique character,
comprising soft and ethereal lily of
the valley aromas, hot herbal scents and
fresh overtones of mirabelle plums and
gooseberry. It’s very soothing and smooth,
and it’s sometimes used to produce balsamic,
honey-like Eiswein. The wine is made
from overripe grapes, which have been
frozen on the vine, and so when the grapes
are pressed, what leaks out is only the
grape must, whereas the ice crystals remain
inside. It is, however, very sweet and requires
a solid dessert, which, contrary to
what you may think, will deprive the wine
of its sweetness, allowing its complexity
to come to surface. Even though Eiswein
is the most popular sweet Austrian wine,
due to its spectacular process of production,
the real hidden treasure are amber-coloured
Trockenberenauslese coming
from around the lake of Burgenland. Similarly
to Hungarian Tokaji Aszu, these
wines are also produced using the noble
rot. As for quality, they are far better
than ice wines, and, unfortunately, more
expensive. Just like in the case of Gruner
Veltiner, it is the local grape varieties that
prevail, e.g. Muscat Ottonel or Welsch
Riesling. Which of course doesn’t mean
that in Austria you can’t fi nd any of the cosmopolitan
grape varieties from France.
Together with Gruner Veltiner’s success,
other varieties have also gained popularity,
like styrian Sauvignon Blanc, which
beguiles by its mineral structure, and creamy
Viennese Chardonnay.
In Austria you will also fi nd red wines.
However, due to the cool climate, they are
much less spectacular. When staying at
one of numerous cosy Gasthauses around
Vienna, you can safely order white wine
on spec, but with red wines you’d better
stick to well-known producers and your
own experiences. Red wine production in
such cool climate requires the work of an
expert. And it’s not that they are not present
there – only it seems obvious that
not everyone can be one. The main red
grape varieties include St. Laurent (sometimes
in white version), Zweigelt and
Biaufrankisch. The whimsical and diffi
cult to grow Pinot Noir has been slowly
gaining a signifi cant position. St. Laurent
is incredibly fruity, and resembles
Champagne Pinot Meunier. It has light
and delicate character and relatively low
acidity for a wine from this region. Zweigelt
is more muscular, spicy with stronger
tannins. Blaufrankisch is the most rustic,
smells of peat, moss and birch bark
with a discreet fl avour of blackberry and
dried mushroom overtones. And because
the characters of all the three varieties
complement one another perfectly, they
are frequently mixed together in various
proportions. The biggest wines are produced
in Burgenland, where some other labels
rub shoulders with them. Pinot Noir
doesn’t feel quite right in the proximity
of Vienna, and gives surprisingly warm
and soft wines, provided the wine producer
doesn’t keep it for too long in the oak
barrels. Such a tendency is the main cause
of Pinot Noir getting spoiled throughout
the world, from Germany to California
(where it’s too hot for this variety).
It’s time to give Austria its well-deserved
place on the winemaking map of Europe
and admit it’s worth visiting, not only
as a stop while heading for Italy, but as
a destination. For behind the facade of
beer, sausages and “spring salads” consisting
mainly of vinegar, there lies a picturesque
and diverse country smelling of good
wine and damp cellars. Visit Austria,
and you will fi nd that the local wine makers
could easily intimidate the most laid-back
European nations with their sense
of humour and easiness. ■
Michał Poddany, Robert Miełżyński
WINE
It’s time to
give Austria
its welldeserved
place on the
winemaking
map of
Europe and
admit it’s
worth visiting
JULY / AUGUST 2010 | 61