Matthew Boucher reveals his favourite Austrian wines
With all the millions of gallons of wine out there, it is easy to overlook very good wine even when it’s staring you in the face. And we have no excuse, because right on our doorstep is Europe and its many undiscovered gems. In fact there are whole countries whose wines are barely known.
One of these countries is Austria, whose wines remain off the beaten track for most people. Not for us at Thirsty, though.
Austria has fairly warm summers and is home to some red grape names which you would do well to remember. Blauer Zweigelt, Rotgipfler and Sankt Laurent are good starters for ten.
White varieties may be more famous, especially Austria’s speciality white, Grüner Veltliner. For those who haven’t experienced this, it appears in many styles; light, spritzy and fresh for the summer or full, honeyed and golden for the winter. The latter tends to be the more expensive.
These more esoteric varieties are often blended with ‘international’ varieties, such as Merlot or Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
“The regions provide different styles, traditions and wines”
The second point to understand about Austrian wines is that they aren’t German. There are some links, however, such as the fact that you will find some world class Austrian dry Riesling and indeed some world class dessert wines, but mostly the offer is just very good dry white and red table wine.
The wine regions of Austria provide different styles, traditions and wines. For instance, the area around the Neusiedler lake borders Hungary and produces fuller, richer styles and indeed more red than say the Wachau on the Danube, which is cooler and is traditionally more influenced by Riesling.
The final point is to urge you to go to Austria to find out what is eaten on a regular basis. Us Brits tend to think of schnitzels and then… we’re struggling. The Austro-Hungarian Empire introduced many exotic flavours to the current country’s cuisine including fruits, cinnamon and caraway seed, which if you are prepared to experiment really do compliment the cuisine.
We at Thirsty have exclusive UK distribution for Allram and Franz Schneider’s Artisan Wines, so if you are curious, drop by and find out more. We can also recommend some tempting food matches.
