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| Rise of the Phoenix – Austrian Wines |
| By Rajiv Singhal |
| Austria, a considerably small wine producing country, began their engagement with India quite early, and in 2001, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board AWMB introduced India (and me) to "Europe's best kept secret" – their wines. |
| This summer, I was invited to explore what was described as "the hottest premium wine destinations in the world" as a delegate to the Wine Summit 2015 and joined a 4 day whirlwind introductory tour across wine regions of Austria with a bus load of wine nomads. |
| "Taste Culture" is the advertising slogan (see their banner in vino india alongside) that presents Austrian wines to the world. Austria is steeped in culture with fascinating historical landmarks dotting the landscape. And as wine tourists, we got special viewings of some exceptionally beautiful palaces, where the special tastings were hosted. |
| Tucked away in the 19th century Ringstrasse in Vienna, we were led into the Palais Niederosterreich – where the noble classes met to gain access to the royalty. "Grüner Veltliner, an anthology of great wines" was set up in the Landtagssal Hall under the 18th century ceiling frescos by Antonio Beduzzi. |
| The Landmark Tasting |
| Austria is home to the Grüner Veltliner, which has been recognised as the signature grape that has powered the Austrian wine revolution. AWMB presents Grüner Veltliner the greatest value in the fine wine world, and "Grüner Veltliner, an anthology of great wines", the Top 100 Grüner Veltliner tasting made its debut at the Wine Summit. |
| To capture the versatility of the grape across the wine regions of Austria, top Austrian sommeliers nominated the best in four categories – Young & Elegant; Powerful Reserve Wines; Mature; and Innovative & Wild. |
| The wines were spread over 24 flights, each no more than 6 wines. 6 Reidel glasses, a tasting mat, water, bread, pre printed call cards resembling auction paddles were set up at my designated place in the room and my choices was serviced with clockwork precision by a team of 35 smiling and clinically efficient students from the Judenplatz Hotel School led by the Head Sommelier, Gerhard Elze. |
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Landtagssal Hall at Palais Niederosterreich |
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| I managed to work my way through a little over 50 wines – typically fresh, citrusy, fruit forward and rounded by balanced acidity. Menthol, boroline, petroleum, grass, jasmine, smoky, caramel, gun flint, phenol, naptha were some of the notes that I could scribble into my tasting book. |
| The most unexpected tasting note was introduced to me by fellow taster Gurjit Barry, who beat me to the last flight (Number 24 – Innovative & Wild). Amphora 2012 by Muhr-Van der Niepoort in Weinland smelt of a freshly applied and just oiled palm of "mehndi". |
| Ried Hundschupfen 1983 by Schlossweingut Malteser Ritterorden in Weinviertel and Ried Lössterassen 1985 by Mantlerhof winery in Kremstal were the oldest wines in the selection – both had aged gracefully and showed up well balanced as gun flint and smokey aromas revealed the fruit. |
| Some other highlights: |
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Ried Reipersburg 2013 by Gruber Roschitz in Weinviertal DAC – lovely citrus fruit |
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Reserve Ried Kaferburg '1ÖTW' 2012 by Bründlmayer in Kamptal DAC – hint of menthol and lingering fruit |
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Smaragd Ried Loibenberg 1999 by Knoll in Wachau – notes of caramel |
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| Austrian wine – a perspective from the top |
| Wine making in Austria dates back to 700BC. At the height of the Habsburg monarchy, much area was planted under vines and technological advances were made to revitalise viticulture. Wine making in most of the 20th century was about bulk production. |
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Willy Klinger |
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| The Managing Director of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, Willy Klinger (who studied Romance Studies at the University of Salzburg) chose the painstakingly restored Schloss Schrattenthal owned by the Schubert family near Retz, Weinvierten to share his thoughts. |
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This graph shows that Austrian wine has come a long way since the infamous
Anti Freeze Wine Scandal in 1985. |
| Austria is recognised as a quality wine producing nation, commanding an average price of around Euro 3. The second take-off point (average price Euro 0.83) which inspired the title of his presentation "Rise like a Phoenix" also coincided with Willy's arrival at AWMB in 2007. "Sell quality, sell bottled" was his mantra. He made an attempt to turn handicaps into assets – after all, the Austrians did get the world to believe that Hitler was German and Beethovan was Austrian. |
| Around 20,000 grape growers (average holding 2.26 hectares) supply to 6,500 bottlers who help Austria produce 250 million litres of wine – all of which is consumed in Austria. The country imports as much as it exports (50-70 million litres). |
| Austrian wine depends on climate, land, grapes, culture, people and nature, value, food pairing as the 7 key elements of uniqueness. Austria has created a strong identity based on the handcrafted wines that are full of character and focus on nature and origin made by traditional family businesses that draw on the experience of generations. Austrian wines offer excellent value, and Willy emphasises that "the more you spend, the better the value". |
| Willy believes "It's getting hot!" – the wine scene is young, innovative, and highly professional. The institutions of academic excellence (that trace their origin to1860 when Baron August Wilhelm von Babo founded the first viticultural and oenoloigcal school and research centre in Klosterneuburg) have trained the new crop of wine makers with international experience who are in sync with trends and tastes and are focussed on quality. |
| Since he joined AWMB, Willy has not visited India. But he is willing to accompany Christian Dworan, Export Director for Asia, who manages this territory – one which they can't ignore inspite of the roadblocks. Can we pave the way? |
| Rajiv Singhal was invited by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board as a delegate to the Wine Summit 2015. AWMB advertises in vino india. Please share any feedback with vino india info@vinoindia.in |
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