Departures Hong Kong Winter 2023

28 DEPARTURES TRAVEL

28 DEPARTURES TRAVEL LAND OF PLENTY More Places to Eat and Drink 1 Grab a sundowner at DAS FRITZ, a contemporary wine bar and shop with terraces overlooking the lake in Weiden am See. dasfritz. at 2 WIRTSHAUS IM HOFGASSL in Rust is a cosy heuriger with beautifully vaulted cellars and a bucolic plant-filled terrace. hofgassl.at 3 For rustic, regional dishes – including soup, zander, and hazelnut and apple cake – opt for Purbach’s DIE SANDHOFER, a familyrun heuriger with a vine-covered terrace and vaulted cellar. diesandhofer.at 4 STROMMER is a historic Purbach heuriger offering a splendid range of cold cuts, charcuterie and cheeses. strommer.wine 5 HENRICI, a restaurant with a beautiful terrace in Eisenstadt, artfully combines Pannonian and Levantine cuisine. henrici.at A visit to a former priest turned internationally respected tomatoseed collector and producer in Frauenkirchen, close to Neusiedler Lake, is great fun. Erich Stekovics (stekovics.at), whose jewel-like jarred vegetables grace chic delis in Vienna, quips, “These days, I worship tomatoes.” His open-air tomato museum comprises 3,000- plus heirloom and wild varieties from all over the world, many reviving forgotten flavours (such as one variety that tastes extraordinarily like apricot). He organises tomato workshops each summer, which include tastings of his “flock” and which get booked up far ahead. Stekovics also has given some of his valuable tomato seeds to both fellow tomato obsessive and the late rock ‘n’ roll star Joe Cocker as well as King Charles (back in 2017). “Tomatoes are instruments; chefs make the orchestra,” says Stekovics. Back at Taubenkobel, where pristine produce from the surrounding fields, forests and lakes connects nature and culinary creativity, it’s hard not to feel the artistic sensibility of the place and wax lyrical about crayfish gently Left: Stephanie Tscheppe- Eselböck and Eduard Eselböck examine the vines at Gut Oggau; right: farm-fresh tomatoes from Erich Stekovics’s gardens poached in an ambrosial tomato broth with Espelette pepper. Burgenland is synonymous with wine – and vineyards are everywhere. Most producers welcome visits if you make an advance appointment. Ernst Triebaumer (triebaumer.at), among the most renowned, takes a completely holistic approach: heritage sheep tend the vineyards which are sown alongside the vines with an unusual diversity of plants, from rosemary bushes and olive trees to black beans and even yuzu. The vineyard makes its own compost with silt from Neusiedl Lake, combined with grape pomace and active charcoal from burning old vine boughs (a method first used by the Incas and Mayas to revitalise soil). Their Blaufränkisch wines taste profoundly of dark cherry, forest bramble fruits, allspice, pepper and dark chocolate. Gut Oggau (gutoggau.com), on the shore of Neusiedl Lake, is run by Stephanie Tscheppe-Eselböck, sister of Barbara, with her Styrian winemaker husband, Eduard. They farm biodynamically. Their horses graze among the vineyards planted with fig, cherry trees and herbs. FROM LEFT: © GUT OGGAU, EVELYN ROIS & BRUNO STUBENRAUCH / LAIF

INGO PERTRAMER Barbara Eselböck and her chef husband Alain Weissgerber of Taubenkobel (right) These are natural wines with complex minerality and deep character that need time to reveal themselves, preferably over a heuriger-style feast of cold meats and vegetables served in the bucolic courtyard of their restored 17th-century winery. There’s a beautifully curated shop offering ceramics, clothes and art by distinctive local makers. Responding to demand beyond the interns who clamour to help with the harvest, Eduard now runs “roottime” courses for those who want to immerse themselves in the world of mindful viticulture. The cultural landscape of Burgenland has great allure, too. The composer Joseph Haydn spent many years in Eisenstadt, and his former home (haydnhaus.at) now offers candid insight into the domestic life of a musician at that particular time. The best place to hear a concert is the Haydnsaal, an acoustically stellar Living symbiotically with the landscape is the leitmotif, not only of Taubenkobel, but also many of the nearby local producers concert hall covered in frescoes within the baroque Esterházy Palace (esterhazy.at). The composer worked as a conductor for nearly 40 years in the service of the Esterházy family, and many of his works were composed and premiered here. Over the summer, there’s also Seefestspiele Mörbisch, a much-praised operetta festival held in an outdoor theatre by the lake. More majestic still is the Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park with grassland steppes and natural salt lakes. Equipped with Swarovski binoculars (the first product of the company now synonymous with crystals) and a spotting scope, I accompanied botanist and ornithologist Manuel Böck of St Martins Lodge (stmartins.at) “on safari”. The best moment was when Bock adorably exclaimed “Mein Gott!” and did a little jump: he’d just spotted an incredibly rare pair of white-tailed eagles seemingly philosophising by the lake. Spring visitors can watch all manner of birds courting, as well as see fields of rare wild orchids, the deep ruby colour of Blaufränkisch, blooming. Truly an Eden, in the most unexpected of places. DEPARTURES 29