An Austrian Reawakening

March 9, 2011

Austrian wine is a little abstruse. This isn’t to say the quality is deficient. Far from it. It’s just I suspect that for those of you who don’t curl up in front of the fireplace with “The World of Atlas of Wine,” it’s a wine-producing country one approaches in trepidation.
Found at the back of the wine list or at the far corner of the wine merchants, sandwiched between Germany and Eastern Europe, the country’s vintners are relatively unknown, which seems a little unfair as it’s hard to think of a comparable wine region that has shown such a dramatic reinvention in recent years.
Part of the problem is that Austria has a large and thirsty domestic market that consumes a vast swathe of the country’s production. Figures from the trade group Austrian Wine show that 70% of all production is consumed locally, while 30% is exported. Last year, exports reached a value of €122 million. Then, of course, there is the diethylene glycol scandal of 1985, when a handful of producers were caught adding the chemical, which is related to antifreeze, to make their wine sweeter. But the episode occurred a long time ago now and the present generation of Austrian winemakers have moved beyond the scandal and are producing wines of exceptional character.
The country’s most famous exponent is the grape variety Grüner Veltliner, which in areas such as Kamptal, Kremstal and Wachau produces a green-tinged white wine that is lean, tart and dry, with aromas that can range from white pepper to perfume to herbaceous spiciness. Above all, it is a wine that refreshes much in the style of, say, a Riesling from Alsace. Along the Danube River, Riesling is cultivated on rocky soil that gives it a mineral character, with notes of white peach, apricot and lemon, and, with bottle age, petrol-like scents.
Other white grape varieties range from Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Neuburger, which again, with time, can develop an attractive nuttiness.
But Austria is also carving out a niche for its red wines, based around Blaufränkisch and grape varieties such as Blauer Zweigelt. Blaufränkisch is an interesting varietal; pre-medieval, it was widely planted throughout the time of the Hapsburg monarchy and is still one of Austria’s most prevalent grapes. Today, it thrives in the vineyards that stretch east on the north bank of the Danube as the river flows out of Vienna toward Slovakia, an area known as Carnuntum. At its best, Blaufränkisch takes on a spicy, cherry-like aroma, with freshness and purity. When drunk young, it can taste a little hard. But with bottle age, it can take on a farm-yard, yeasty character.
Blauer Zweigelt is Austria’s most widespread grape variety, with deep, sour-cherry, earthy and berry aromas. These wines work best when they haven’t been exposed to too much oak, providing a welcome antidote to the large quantities of heavier wines on the market.
Like most wines, Austria’s reflect their sense of place and are best understood when tasted alongside the local food. A chilled glass of Grüner Veltliner marries wonderfully with schnitzel, while the earthy, cherry character of Blaufränkisch is a perfect foil for veal or stewed meats. For the more adventurous, I would recommend trying a bottle of one of the white-grape varieties with lighter seafood-based dishes. Weingut Bründlmayer, Weingut Pichler-Krutzler, F.X. Pichler, Uwe Schiefer, Emmerich Knoll and Muhr-van der Niepoort are among the wineries that impressed. Willi Bründlmayer’s wines are worth seeking out, with fresh, elegant, clean wines that don’t overwhelm.
One wine that won’t fail to impress when lined up against its more expensive counterparts is sweet wine from the Kracher winery. The wines are grown in the east of the country in the Burgenland region, close to Lake Neusiedl at Illmitz. They shot to fame in 1994 when the late Alois Kracher’s Welschriesling TBA beat France’s celebrated Château d’Yquem in a blind tasting. Since then, the wines have enjoyed something of a following and it’s not hard to see why they are simply some of the best sweet wines out there.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703498804576156283719612252.html
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