Category Archives: Winery Visits

When I have visited wineries

March 16, 2012 · 3:41 pm

Not enough time (Niederosterreich, Austria – Day Four)

It is difficult enough trying to find time to visit each region and spend enough of it to really get to know the producers, varieties and styles. There are so many regions in Europe alone that I am having to compromise in missing so that I can spend enough time in other regions. Further difficulties have come up recently as I have been attempting to get a working-holiday visa for Germany so that I can join such producers as Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt in the Mosel and Gunderloch in the Rheinhessen. It’s also important for me to be able to travel in Europe for the remainder of the year. This has meant I have had to return to my local Aliens Authority office in Neuss where a friend lives three times, the most recent time driving back for nine hours to provide fingerprints and my signature. I’m also not so happy with my car so I’m trying to find a mechanic who can have a look at it, but it’s not so easy. Thus I had to cut my Austrian journey short and I didn’t get to visit Burgenland as I planned.

The “Rotes Tor” (Red Door) entrance to the vineyards above Hirtzberger

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March 15, 2012 · 11:10 am

Persons of interest (Niederosterreich, Austria – Day Three)

There is something quite magical about Vienna. Not only is it a beautiful and historic city but it is also a thriving metropolis, home to 2. 4 million people. Walking around the central part of the city there are any number of tourist sites; the cathedral, the Belvedere Palace, the numerous museums and theatres. You would hardly believe there are operating vineyards and wineries within Vienna, which unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to visit. By all accounts they are very traditional, making field blend wines from any number of native varieties. Vienna is a very multicultural city, which is not hard to understand when you consider that it is the gateway to the East. Something I found very interesting was the high concentration of Japanese restaurants in the city centre, even more than in Dusseldorf which has the highest concentration of Japanese people in Europe. Vienna is famous for its music, as celebrated composers like Mozart and Strauss lived here. For as little as €3 you can see one of the daily performances at the historic Opera House. Having been to a number of performances of Opera Australia back in Melbourne, one of the things I wanted to do was to see some opera in Europe, and I was thrilled to enjoy Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” over the weekend before returning to Niederosterreich to visit some more wineries.

Ruins above Weingut Nigl in Kremstal

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March 14, 2012 · 7:35 pm

History in the making (Niederosterreich, Austria – Day Two)

Niederosterreich is Austria’s largest and most important wine-producing area, covering just over 27,000 hectares of vineyards across eight distinct regions from the Wachau until Carnuntum. The majority of the premium wine comes from three of these regions along the Danube River; Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal, with the top wines being made from fruit grown on steep and terraced vineyards. There are over 4,000 different producers in Niederosterreich, but the average vineyard owner only holds a few hectares of vines. The largest producers are often cooperatives or wineries owned by the state, and many of these produce large volume wines for the Austrian market. The wine consumer in Austria is very patriotic, consuming 80% of domestic production at a level of 30 L per capita per year. Austrians actually consume as much as they produce, so the 20% of production that is exported is replaced by imported wine, mostly German.

Modern art along terraced vineyards above Unterloiben

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March 10, 2012 · 3:14 pm

Gruner pastures (Niederosterreich, Austria – Day One)

Although it’s nowhere near as luxurious as some of the rental cars I’ve been driving on my trip so far, it is so nice to have my own car and not worry about the daily costs involved. The 1995 Volkswagon Golf I bought for €500 was in reasonable condition but through a friend I had someone take a look and replace a few things. Otherwise it wouldn’t have even survived the eight-hour drive down to Wachau, let alone all around Europe this year. It is also great being in another new country, far away from the previous place so that the scenery looks very different. I will say that the Niederosterreich region on the banks of the Danube River reminds me a little bit of the Rheingau region of Germany, but the people and most importantly the wines are quite different. About a third of the vineyards are planted on flatter slopes, and the rest is planted on the steeper terraced slopes where you find the better parcels on primary rock with less loam. There are two major varieties; riesling and gruner veltliner, and I am here to find out more about them.

Domäne Wachau in Durnstein

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March 8, 2012 · 3:30 pm

The other Burgundy (Baden, Germany – Day Two)

The largest town in Baden is Freiburg, and is famous in Germany for two things. The first is that it is the capital for cycling, and it is hard to miss them. When I say that I don’t mean that I hit a bunch of people on bikes in my rental car, I just mean that there are a lot of them, obviously. They are a little aggressive, but I guess you would be if you finally outnumbered cars on the road. The second thing that makes Freiburg famous in Germany is that it is a university town, and so is filled with plenty of good places to eat and drink for not much money. There is a really nice brauhaus where I enjoyed a stein of local lager with a big plate of smoked ham and sauerkraut, for only 10 Euro. I spent a fair amount of my time in Starbucks taking advantage of the free wifi, as my hostel didn’t have any. The coffee is terrible, but you can’t pass up on free wifi.

Schlossberg vineyards of Weingut Huber

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March 4, 2012 · 7:35 am

Border hopping (Baden, Germany – Day One)

You forget how close Alsace is to the border considering how different it is, but it dawned on me five minutes after leaving my accommodation in Strasbourg I was back in Germany. Situated on the eastern bank of the Rhine is the state of Baden-Wurtemberg, but Baden and Wurtemberg are legislated as different wine regions. Baden alone is the third largest wine region in Germany covering 16,000 hectares, but compared to Rheinhessen and the Pfalz it is not really known outside of Germany. The region has similarities to its neighbour over the French border, but is generally considered the red wine region of Germany. Much like Alsace cooperatives are very common, and 85% of the production is made by them. Also similar to Alsace, burgundian varieties are very popular, the most important being spatburgunder (pinot noir), grauburgunder (pinot gris) and weissburgunder (pinot blanc). The region is separated into nine districts from north to south, with the best known being Kaiser Stuhl. This name may be familiar with Australian wine consumers, but associate it with very cheap cask wine from the last century, no longer in existence (as far as I know).

Kaiser Stuhl vineyards

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February 27, 2012 · 8:22 pm

Difference of opinion (Alsace, France – Day Four)

One of the major goals of my journey is to discover first hand what makes each great region in the wine world unique, to find a consistency if there is one. With so many regions to choose from as a wine consumer, it helps to have some element of the product to distinguish it from everything else. Most major regions in Europe usually have more producers than all of Australia, and when you only visit six of them it isn’t always easy to get an accurate snapshot. If you are visiting very high quality ones it does help, as the tenets of quality are usually the same (low yields, natural yeast fermentation etc.) Even in these circumstances you can get producers that have almost completely different philosophies, yet both produce outstanding wines. This is one of the many things that makes wine such an amazing product, and working in it exhilarating.

Old foudre with tartrate build-up at Kuentz-Bas

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February 27, 2012 · 11:08 am

Steiner school (Alsace, France – Day Three)

On my trip thus far I have had the opportunity to visit quite a few biodynamic growers and producers, from California to Casablanca. With 15% of all vineyards (anecdotal) engaged in biodynamic viticulture in Alsace, this may be considered the unofficial home of it. As an atheist and natural cynic, my initial impression of the biodynamic principles outlined by Rudolf Steiner almost 100 years ago was that it sat somewhere between a cult and a pagan rite. Even after studying the principles through my Masters degree I understood the reasons for doing it, but didn’t necessarily understand the philosophies and some of the practices involved. Perhaps it is also my business and marketing background that makes me a little more cynical about it and it may be a different case if I were an agriculturalist myself. In my trip I have learnt a lot about the concept and met many passionate and committed individuals, but I have also met as many cynics. At the end of the day, if it makes better wine, that is all I care about. I certainly don’t ascribe to gaining certification merely as a marketing strategy, and respect people who truly believe in it to produce healthier soils and vines. My week in Alsace saw me visit many of the top producers using the philosophy, and all three of my visits on the third day were BD producers.
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht

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February 27, 2012 · 9:45 am

Familiar ground (Alsace, France – Day Two)

Returning to Alsace feels like coming home, as I feel an affinity to these wines are producers. After trying so many mediocre pinot gris (not pinot grigio, there is a difference) around the world it is nice to taste true examples of this seemingly elusive variety. It is nice to also visit producers I have visited before, or to visit ones whose wines I am familiar with. And although the weather is almost completely different to July 2010, it felt like only yesterday I was turning into the Domaine Weinbach Clos. They do say that familiarity breeds contempt, or in my case complacency. Much like when I was in Champagne, I got quite lazy updating this blog and now find myself chasing my own tail. No use in dilly-dallying then…

Domaine Trimbach in Ribeauville

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February 25, 2012 · 2:20 pm

Palette fatigue (Alsace, France – Day One)

In 2010 the Alsace region was one of the five I visited whilst I travelled in France for three weeks, and was thus the second region that I would be returning to in Europe. Much like Champagne it is quite a different sight to see in winter compared to summer, but unlike Champagne has its own natural beauty not reliant on vines covered with leaves. The region is as I remember it, and supported my comparison with the Pfalz region. It should be noted that Alsace is not Germany, nor is it really France. The people here are very relaxed and generous, and certainly more humble than their counterparts in other French wine regions. One similarity they have with their German neighbours is their focus on single varietal wines, and a lot of them. In my honest opinion there is not one outstanding variety like there is in the Pfalz, but three (riesling, pinot gris and gewürztraminer). Between the numerous varieties and the dry and sweet wines, along with the classifications of vineyards, each producer may have as many as 30 wines at any given time, which would suggest dilution and confusion. I think it is both fantastic for variety, and also challenging to be able to promote such varied styles.

Brand vineyard

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