Back from Austria

Coming home from a wine trip and adjusting to more normal life again is always a difficult process. After all, over the course of the four or five or more days that you’re traveling through a different part of the world, eating great food, tasting more wine than most people do in a year, and spending your days and nights with colleagues from all over the planet--well, it’s easy to lose track of the more ordinary aspects of your life back home. (It’s always good to come home, of course, but also very easy to get spoiled while you’re away.)

I spent this past week, as I mentioned in my blog post the other day, at the bi-annual Wine Summit, sponsored by the remarkable Austrian Wine Marketing Board. The specific leg of the excursion I was on focused on Burgenland and Carnuntum and, as such, leaned heavily on the excellent Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch they produce.

The trip started in Vienna, which is actually home to one of the world’s best wine regions located within a major city’s boundaries. (The photo above, in fact, is taken from the Rotes Haus, where our first night’s festivities began. You can see the city itself in the background, behind the vines.) After that, we headed south to Carnuntum, where we focused on Austria’s famously spicy Zweigelt, and then to the huge Lake Neusiedl, which does so much to moderate the temperature of the surrounding areas.

West of Lake Neusiedl (or locally, Neusiedlersee), we tasted in what proved to be one of my favorite spots on the trip--Leithaberg DAC, whose fresh, food-friendly Weißburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and crisp Blaufränkisch were some of my top wines throughout. These are bottlings that sing with a bright minerality that screams out for food--just my style.

Later that day we were treated to a fascinating, eye-opening blind tasting at the Esterházy Palace, where I had one of the best Pinot Noirs I’ve sipped in a while, the 2008 from rising star producer Claus Preisinger: Fragrant, balanced, age-worthy, and delicious already, like some sort of fabulous Gevrey-Chambertin. That night, four colleagues and I celebrated Memorial Day with a barbecue just shy of the Austria - Hungary border, at Weingut Hans Igler in Deutchkreutz, with winemaker Clemens Reisner and his father manning the grill. They were generous enough to open not just the current-release wines they were planning on, but also a number of older bottles that demonstrated how beautifully Austrian reds can age. (Their 2006 “Biiri” bottling, 2001 “Ab Ericio,” and 2000 “Jewel” were show-stoppers.)

More wines followed in the remaining time on the trip, including focused tastings of wines from Mittelburgenland DAC and Eisenberg DAC, both of which demonstrated decidedly different aspects of Austrian wine. This country, like all of the best in the wine world, possesses a wide enough range of terroirs and winemaking talent to be able to call itself home to a huge range of styles and expressions. That diversity is what makes a national wine culture exciting, and Austria, as I’ve said for years, is among my favorite in the world.

We ended the trip back where it started--in Vienna--with a closing-night party at the famous Prater, with live music and more food and wine than a group twice this size could have consumed. The night was highlighted by crowd-rousing musical performances by the AWMB’s Managing Director Willi Klinger and wine writer and budding wine-travel impresario Ben Weinberg. Between Willi’s “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” Ben’s “Stormy Monday,” and the glass of Grüner Veltliner Ice Wine I sipped afterward, I cannot think of a better way to have ended this spectacular experience.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be posting tasting notes and impressions of specific wines and regions. Keep your eyes open for them. In the meantime, start stocking up on the great wines of Austria.

Read rest of entry

Austrian Wine on the Web

Wine on the web just got a bit better with the relaunch of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board’s website, AustrianWine.com, a few weeks ago. As readers of this blog know, I’m a big believer in the wines of Austria--from the expressive, pairable-with-everything whites like Gruner Veltliner to the spicier, endlessly rewarding reds like St. Laurent, Zweigelt, and Blaufrankisch, the wines of Austria are some of the most exciting in Europe right now.

Now, with this relaunched web site, consumers will have a chance to learn even more about Austria’s wines and stay up to date on recent developments. With everything that’s happening with Austrian wine these days, this is definitely a site worth adding to your favorites folder and checking regularly.

Read rest of entry

Holiday Weekend Wines

July has arrived, the 4th is just days away, and summer is officially in full swing. Yesterday, in fact, from my home base in Philadelphia, I actually found myself a bit chilly in the morning when I realized that the temperature had dipped below 85!

With the holiday weekend nearly upon us, then, it seems like a good time to discuss a couple of wines to enjoy--easy-to-drink, food-friendly bottlings that will work at the upcoming weekend’s barbecues.

I’ve been having a lot of fun lately with the Concha y Toro Xplorador series, particularly the Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere, both of which seem perfectly suited to the food and the mood of the holiday. The wines from Pine Ridge and ForeFront have been showing really well, too--Pine Ridge’s Chenin Blanc - Viognier should be a standard in your seasonal arsenal. Helfrich’s Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, and Pinot Blancs are spectacular. The spicy elegance of a Zantho Zweigelt or the more lush pleasures of Michel Rolland’s Clos de los Siete, from Argentina, will sing with holiday weekend cookouts. And for dessert--this idea is from a perfectly timed and very thoughtful press release I recently received--a pairing of ‘smores and Port, which seems like the kind of thing that we all should have been enjoying for years already, and a fantastically fun way to celebrate the holiday weekend.

(NB: I’ll be posting tasting notes on all of these wines in the coming weeks. For now, though, just drink and enjoy. There will be time for analysis later.)

Read rest of entry

Wine Review Wednesday: Stadlmann Pinot Noir 'Classic' 2005, Thermenregion, Austria

The lust that most so-called Pinot people feel about their beloved grape variety still doesn’t stretch, to the extent that it should, to Austria. This is wildly unfortunate: Austria is home to some of the most delicious, interesting Pinots on the planet, and the fact that more people don’t know much about them is one of the great mysteries of the wine world.

The same, really, could be said for the other great reds of the country, too: Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch, St. Laurent--all of these offer pleasures far, far greater than their still-niche reputation might indicate.

What sets Austrian Pinot apart in particular, for me at least, is the specific place it occupies on the Pinot Noir continuum: It seems most at home somewhere between the more earthy delicacy of Burgundy and the fruit-forward lustiness of Russian River. Of course, Austrian Pinot Noir is much more than simply a stylistic middle-ground: It is, rather, a wholly unique (and at the same time wonderfully accurate) version of the beloved grape variety--utterly drinkable, capable of great nuance, and, in the case of the bottling I tasted yesterday, irresistible.

The Stadlmann Pinot Noir ‘Classic’ 2005, from Thermenregion, south of Vienna, was a stunner. It started off with a concentrated, peppery strawberry nose, a hint of anise, a touch of licorice, and, unexpectedly, Mandarin-orange oil. On the palate, the silkiness of the texture stood out right away, a tactile creaminess that was balanced perfectly by the kind of acidity that you find in just-picked wild strawberries. This was complicated by cherry fruit, a hint of orange, sage, more high-toned spice, a wisp of bonfire smoke, and something seductively brambly.

In other words, this is serious Pinot Noir, and a wildly successful argument for the virtues of Austrian Pinot. More people should make a point of learning about these Pinots in particular and Austrian wines in general: Their rewards are significant.

Read rest of entry

New Years Resolutions

Forget about traditional New Years resolutions: As wonderful as they sound today, they lose their luster, for most of us, somewhere around brunch on January 1st. Who, after all, can really follow through on their vow to eat healthier in the face of New Year’s day brunch? And that gym membership you swore you’d purchase this year? Well, maybe it can wait till bathing-suit season is a bit closer at hand…

So forget about those unkeepable promises for the new year; instead, focus on something you’ll actually want to keep.

Drink better.

Now, after all, is the time to make the vow to drink more broadly, with a more open mind, a more willing palate, and a wholehearted acceptance of the three key rules of wine consumption:

The wine world is a big place; explore wines from all parts of it.

Great wine often comes from grapes you may not be familiar with; don’t shy away from unusual or unfamiliar varieties.

And don’t ever assume that you know what to expect from a specific producer or region; change happens all the time, and smart consumers will embrace it.

If you follow these rules—if you allow them to provide a framework of sorts for your vinous decisions from here on out—then I promise that your wine life will be far richer, and far more rewarding, than it ever has been before.

The hard part, though—as always—is knowing where to start.

Personally, I can think of no better place (especially this time of year) than Champagne. As readers of this blog know, I visited the region this past September during the harvest, and spent a week tasting the wines and speaking with producers. I cannot stress enough how impressed I was with both the quality and the range of styles.

Indeed, now is the time to branch out and start exploring the region as a whole. Whatever you buy, though, go beyond your usual comfort zone: Champagne is a far more nuanced, and far more finely mapped, region than most people realize, and the range of wines coming from there is just astounding.

It’s also a great idea to re-familiarize yourself with producers you thought you knew. Of all the affordable wines from California that I’ve tasted in the past year, few have surprised and impressed me quite as much as Blackstone. I had the chance to sit down to lunch with winemaker Gary Sitton this past summer, and his passion for wine, and his desire to express the unique terroirs that his grapes are grown in, are infectious.

The Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Chardonnay 2007, for example, incorporates fruit from four specific vineyards in Carneros, the Russian River Valley, and Sonoma Coast, and showcases all the rich, warm characteristics you’d expect (brown butter, almonds, lovely fruit), as well as a sense of minerality and energy-held-in-reserve that you may not have. And the 2006 “Rubric” bottling, with its grilled graphite, red plums, chocolate, minerality, and spice, is a marvel at a great price.

Grape varieties to keep your eyes open for in the coming year and beyond include bright, often very gently perfumed Albariño from Spain, particularly Rias Baixas in the North West of the country; Torrontes, with its typical notes of melon and flowers, from Argentina; white Rhone Valley varietals like Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier from France and California and Australia; Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch, and St. Laurent, the excellent red Austrian grapes that I reported on here several months ago after my trip to the wine regions in the East of the country; the wines of Long Island; the new generation of high-end whites from Italy’s Alto Adige; and the list goes on.

Here’s the point: There is no longer any excuse to drink the same as you always did, no matter which direction your tastes run in. And this time of year, with all the days off from work and the many large meals centered around the holiday and New Year’s celebrations, offers the perfect excuse (as if you needed one!) to start exploring.

Plus, promising to venture off into the ever-growing world of wine is infinitely more fun than resolving to go to the gym more in the new year.

This, indeed, is one New Years resolution you’ll actually want to keep.

(Note: This blog post has been adapted from a column I recently wrote for Affluent Magazine.)

Read rest of entry

Holiday Wines: Thanksgiving Edition

Last week, as part of my trip to California, I made an appearance on "View from the Bay," the afternoon talk show on ABC 7 in San Francisco. The segment, which focuses on unusual wines for the holidays, is below, and includes two wines that are available right here at Wine Chateau, the Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc - Viognier and the ForeFront Cabernet Sauvignon.

Read rest of entry

The Wines of Austria

I’m back in Philadelphia from the Austrian Wine Marketing Board’s Austrian Wine Summit 2009, and am, to be honest, going to have a very difficult time containing my enthusiasm for the wine, food, and hospitality I experienced there. I’ve hinted at it before, but I’m going to say it plainly: Austria is one of the single most exciting places in the world right now for wine.

From wines you’ve heard of (Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Zweigelt) to ones that are perhaps less familiar (Zierfandler, Muskateller), Austria is simply exploding with fabulous grapes, world-class vineyards, and a range of styles, from white and red to sweet and sparkling, that rivals anywhere on the planet.

Between last Thursday and this past Sunday, I took dozens and dozens of tasting notes and shot several hours of video, so it’s going to take some time to work my way through it all. In the coming days and weeks, however, keep checking back for more from my trip to Austria.

For now, however, I’ll leave you with this video. It was shot immediately following our lecture and tasting last Friday at the Schloss Hof in Weinviertel on the wines of Niederösterreich, or Lower Austria. The Schloss Hof is considered one of the most exquisite Baroque buildings in the world, and at one point was even owned by Empress Maria Theresia. Learning about and tasting the wines of the region in a historically significant and absolutely magnificent palace like this was easily one of the most amazing experiences of my wine life.

Read rest of entry

This Time to Austria

I’m off again, this time to Austria on a trip hosted by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. Between Wednesday and Sunday of this week, I’ll be attending seminars, tastings, vineyard and winery tours, and restaurants throughout Austria’s major wine regions. And, of course, I’ll be taking both tasting notes and making videos while I’m gone. It should be an amazing experience, and I expect to have some great information to share with you here when I return.

But after all the Internet drama I experienced in France and Scotland a couple of weeks ago—if you missed it, I had to camp out at a McDonald’s one night in Bordeaux and use their Internet connection—I’ll be taking precautions this time.

You’ll notice that most of my blog posts this week will be stamped with the same date—June 8th. That’s because I have already written several of them and saved them onto our system here, with the idea that my wife will simply hit the “Post” button while I’m gone. This way, you’ll still be able to check back throughout the week to get fresh wine news, reviews, and info while I’m in Austria, and I won’t have to go crazy if my hotel rooms don’t have great Internet connections.

Of course, if I do have good Internet, then I will definitely post from Austria. But a backup plan is in place.

Either way, the point is this: Keep checking back this week for updated posts, whether they’re coming from this side of the ocean or the other one. And, upon my return next Monday, start looking for updates and videos from this most recent trip, as well as tasting notes on what I expect will be more Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, St. Laurent, Gruner Veltliner, and Riesling than I’ve ever tasted before.

My teeth are turning purple just thinking about it.

Read rest of entry