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Ripe return

Austrian varietals are making a comeback

By Helena Baker
For The Prague Post
July 4th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Experts check out Austria's finest at Weingipfel, the annual wine summit and tour.
Austria has gained a reputation as one of the wine world’s best secrets. Partly as a way to overcome this, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board recently threw its second annual bash for wine professionals.
Also known as the Weingipfel (Wine Summit), last month’s event attracted 120 international wine writers from regions bordering the Czech Republic to the north (Weinviertel, Wagram, Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal) and the southeast (Burgenland and Styria). The summit began with an informal get-together in one of the traditional wine taverns located in the Vienna suburbs. With 700 hectares (1,730 acres) of vineyards, Vienna must be the only capital city in Europe that can boast of any notable wine production. Paris and Prague could once say the same, but no longer.
So, what is it that makes wines from Austria so special?
The country is about the same size as the Czech Republic, although with double the grape-growing area. One might expect a certain similarity — the wines share much in terms of history, climate and grape varieties — but Austria’s are in most cases leaps and bounds ahead in terms of quality and style. And they are better priced.  
I can pinpoint two reasons for this. First, Austria was never hindered by the dead hand of an authoritarian government. And second, something much worse afflicted the Austrian wine world than communism — the antifreeze scandal of 1985.
Certain unscrupulous winemakers had begun adding diethylene glycol to their sweet wines to give them additional body and lushness. They were caught, apparently, when one scoundrel tried to claim the VAT back. Overnight (and for a good few years thereafter), Austrian wines virtually disappeared from shelves around the world. This in turn shook the nation’s wine authorities out of their slumber. Soon, the government introduced some of the most exacting regulations in the world. Yields for wines from a designated origin are strictly limited, while chaptalization (addition of sugar) to quality wine is banned — unlike here or in Germany.  
Austria’s main whites are Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, the Pinot varieties and Welschriesling. Reds include grapes familiar in this country:  Zweigeltrebe, Sanktlaurenztraube (Saint Laurent or Svatovavřinecké to you and me) and Blaufränkisch (Frankovka). Well-traveled and adventurous producers now successfully cultivate such previously unthinkable South European grape
varieties as Merlot and Syrah. Styria, down by the Slovenian frontier, has its sharp Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays under the name of Morillon, as well as a unique and pleasingly acidic rosé called Schilcher from the autochthonous Blauer Wildbacher grape variety (much loved in Norway, I am told).   
Winery of the month
Lubomír Dvořáček-Collegium Vinitorum
Collegium Vinitorum is a voluntary grouping of 15 small winemakers from Moravská Nová Ves and Mikulčice, near Břeclav in south Moravia, which produces more than 60,000 bottles of quality wine from 10 hectares. As far back as 1968, members began to meet on a regular basis to evaluate and criticize one another’s wines, a process they still follow. One of the foremost of these is Lubomír Dvořáček, who has been making wines on a very small scale since 1985 and gradually expanded before going professional in 2000. Five years later, Lubomír, assisted by his offspring Tomáš and Martina, became the second producer of kosher wine in the Czech Republic, made under the supervision of the chief rabbi of Brno. Tastings can be arranged for up to 20 persons in the modern air-conditioned production area. For more information, write to dvoracek@sendme.cz.
Wines of the month
Foreign white: Mount Athos Vineyards (Assyrtiko-Athiri), 2005
Producer: Tsantali, Halkidiki, Greece
Deep yellow tinges and a nose of acacia blossom and orange rind distinguish this new monastic addition to the Tsantali range. Forward banana flavors backed by ripe pears, apples and passion fruit dominate the palate — what better for a summer evening? (150 Kč/$7)
Local red: Vinum Palaviense Merlot 2005, Selection (výběr z hroznů)
Producer: Vinselekt Michlovský, subregion Mikulov, region Moravia
This wine, made from specially selected bunches, has a firm structure and fine chocolaty finish. It has a deep, dark, crimson hue and, on the nose, mulberries, blueberries and other soft fruit laced with licorice. A perfect accompaniment with red meat, game and ripe cheeses such as farmhouse cheddar or matured gouda. (250 Kč)
July events diary
Vinoforum-Pardubice
Vinoforum is a renowned wine competition that rotates among the nations of central Europe. This year, the judging takes place July 5 and 6 at the famed Zlatá Štika wine hotel. On July 6 (a public holiday in the Czech Republic), the general public is invited to the main square of Pardubice, Pernštejnské náměstí, for a program including knights, historic market stalls and, of course, wine tastings. So why not pop along to the not-too-distant town more famous for its grilling racecourse and Semtex? For more information, check www.zlatastika.cz/vinoforum.html
Helena Baker’s wine column appears the first Wednesday of each month. She can be reached at
features@praguepost.com


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