Alles Liebe aus Österreich (From Austria with Love)

Austria is one of the countries privileged to be situated in the ideal wine making latitudinal band of 30-50 degrees. No wonder then, that the country has been known to cultivate vines since as long back as the Celtic era in the 5^th century B.C. But despite its long oenological  history it is only recently that the world has started taking notice of Austrian wines, partly due to the country’s belated but proactive outreach to the world and more significantly, as an outcome of the ever improving wine standards of the country, that rank today as one of the most stringent in existence.

Recently, an Austrian Wine Masterclass was conducted by Wi-Not Beverage Solutions Pvt Ltd- a beverages consultancy company based at New Delhi  and headed by sommelier Magandeep Singh  who also spearheaded the session at the residence of Dr. Wolfram Moritz, the Austrian Trade Commissioner.  In a sit down, deep dive endeavour into the world of Austrian wines, the session looked at the aspects of history, terroir and grape varietals with 12 wineries and more than 50 wines  represented.





H.E. Bernhard Wrabetz delivering the keynote address (Dr. Wolfram Moritz,  is seen second from left)

The masterclass started with a keynote address by H.E. Bernhard Wrabetz, the Ambassador of Austria in India  followed by a small presentation on Austrian wine regions and their typicalities. It is noteworthy that almost all the wine regions in Austria are situated towards the eastern side that is more conducive to grape cultivation than the western region better known for its famous skiing slopes. These  are summarized as below:





The Austrian Wine Areas

Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)

Situated in the north eastern part of Austria, this region has the river Danube flowing through, that blesses it with the prized Loess – a calcerous clay and silt soil with fossil fragments that provide good drainage and just the right amount of water for favourable vines. The region includes the largest wine area of Weinviertel  which is also a DAC (Districtus Austria Controllatus- a classified  area similar to French AOC regions).

Sub Regions: Weinviertel, Kamptal,  Thermenregion, Kremstal, Wachau, Traisental, Wagram and Carnuntum.

Wines: The region produces mostly  white Wines-   notably the famous Grüner Veltliner. Sweet and red wines too are produced here. Some of the varietals are- Welschriesling, Riesling, Müller Thurgau, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) , Roter Veltliner and Zweigelt.

Burgenland

Situated south of Lower Austria and bordering Hungary, this region gets the maximum sunlight in Austria and produces several full bodied reds, some great whites  and an array of noble sweet wines. The sandy and marshy region beside the lake towards the Hungarian border lends it a microclimate friendly  to ‘noble rot’ that enables production of some great sweet wines viz. Strohwein ( straw wine) and Eiswein.

Sub Regions: Neusiedlersee, Leithaberg, Mittelburgenland and Eisenberg.

Wines: Zweigelt, Bläufrankisch, St Laurent, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Welschriesling Eiswein, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc.

(Lower Austria and Bergenland are collectively called Weinland Osterreich that produces more than 90% of total Austrian Wine production)

Styria (Steiermark)

Towards further south, bordering Slovenia on the south, Styria is a mountainous viticultural area that accounts for  a very little portion (around 7%) of Austria’s total Wine production and consumes most of the Wines locally.  It is popular for its dry and fragrant style of Wines.

Sub Regions: Sud-Steiermark, Sud-Oststeiermark and Weststeiermark.

Wines: Welschriesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Klevner(Pinot Blanc), Gelber Muskateller(Muscat Blanc À Petits Grains), Morillon (Chardonnay).

Vienna (Wien)

The only capital city of the world that includes a significant wine area within its boundaries, Vienna produces some exclusive Red and White Wines consumed mainly by the locals and the tourists. Grüner Veltliner dominates here not to forget the unique Gemischter Satz – that is a wine produced by fermenting a mix of several grape varieties together.

Sub Regions: Wiener Gemischter Satz (DAC)

Wines: Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Gemischter Satz.

The Tasting

Taking a departure from the generally accepted ‘Whites first, Reds after’ norm Magan chose to present the wines region-wise to emphasize the terroir aspect. This in effect meant that we tasted whites and reds at random and it worked really well for the intended purpose. To bolster it further, a representative from Sunny Grapes- a marketing agency for several winemakers from Austria presented the unique aspects of each region and the respective winemakers.

Wines presented for guided tasting

Magan presented 14 wines as a headstart and encouraged the participants to try out many others  placed at the walk around tasting. It would get mundane to describe all the wines here so here are some of my favourites:

Sommelier Magandeep Singh in action

Winery: Alphart

Location: Thermenregion near Vienna (Lower Austria)

Wine: Rotgipfler vom Berg 2013 

Impression: A crystal clear light gold wine with fruity, wet leaves and spicy aromas. On the palate it was dry, light bodied with mouth watering acidity and appreciable balance. A good refreshing Wine for a tropical country like India.

Winery: Interrior

Location: Burgenland

Wine: Red Collection 2012

 Impression: A light ruby Wine having intense red fruit aromas. Light bodied and juicy on the palate, it had rounded tannins that gently conveyed the underlying structure. Good to have with entrée courses incorporating  greens, fruits, poultry and seafood.

Winery: Payr

Location: Carnuntum (Lower Austria)

Wine: Zweigelt Rubin Carnuntum

Impression: A luminescent ruby Wine with aromas of wild berries and oak. On the palate it was dry and medium bodied with medium tannins and reaffirmation of oak. Having flavours of red fruits and spice, this would be the Wine for sterner stuff like pot roasted meat and fried chicken.

Winery: Urbanihof

Location: Wagram (Lower Austria)

Wine: Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben 2013

 Impression: Alte Reben meaning ‘prized’, it lived up to its name by being a complex and delightful Wine. Having an antique gold colour with aromas of melon, quince and spice, the Wine was off dry on the palate probably due to its tropical fruit flavours. It had a great finish too!

The Pinot Noir Eiswein

Winery: Höpler

Location: Burgenland

Wine: Eiswein Pinot Noir 2009

Impression: Eiswein means Wine made from frozen berries where the water freezes out and the grape juice becomes intense and syrupy. This was my first experience of a Pinot Noir Eiswein and it turned out to be a delightful one. An intense honeyed and nutty nose with an explosion of fruit flavours on the tongue had a lingering effect that made it one of the stars of the evening.

The tasting concluded with rounds of filling snacks ensuring that no belly went back grumbling. With lots of wine for company and interesting conversations galore, the evening quite logically refused to budge from its youth.

Showcased wineries and their contact details:

Winery	Contact Person	Website
Alphart	Mr. Rudolf Trischler	www.sunnygrapes.at
Interroir		www.sunnygrapes.at
Payr		www.sunnygrapes.at
Scheiblhofer		www.sunnygrapes.at
Urbanihof		www.sunnygrapes.at
Höpler	Mr. Kerstin Raschl	www.hoepler.at
Lenz Moser	Ms. Doris Wanek	www.lenzmoser.at
Muenzenrieder	Mr. Johannes Münzenrieder	www.muenzenrieder.at
Salomon Undhof	Mr. Bertold Salomon	www.salomonwines.com
Strehn	Ms. Pia Pneisl	www.strehn.at
Tement	Mr. Armin Tement	www.tement.at
Rainer Wess	Mr. Rainer Wess	www.weingut-wess.at
Zantho	Mr. Thomas Gratzer	www.zantho.com

Raising a toast with Ms Shanay Hubmann

P.S. For putting the Austrian title on this post I requested Ms. Shanay Hubmann, the Deputy Trade Commissioner at the Austrian embassy at New Delhi to help- which most kindly she did. Cheers to that!

The changing demeanour of a Wine: à l'instant Taittinger

How important is ambience for  wine enjoyment? Does a change of place affect the wine experience you have? While it is no secret that a setting for wine appreciation should be devoid of any strong odours, coloured lights et al, the contextual environment related to wine appreciation is an often  overlooked angle.

I recently had the opportunity  to do a Quod Erat Demonstrandum on this theory when M. Nicolas Delion Export Manager Asia Pacific for Taittinger  visited New Delhi in March 2014 to present their Champagnes in the backdrop of Taittinger’s association with FIFA world cup 2014. The venue was the opulent Oval Bar at hotel JW Marriott, Aerocity, New Delhi and three  Champagnes from Taittinger were presented for tasting- two being the same  I had swooned over not long back (one of these described in my previous blogpost on Taittinger).

The Oval Bar at JW Marriott,  New Delhi

Coming to the two different scenarios- the first one was the enchanting environ of Château de la Marquetterie, the 18^th century manor surrounded by one of a kind vineyards  owned by Taittinger and the second - the classy Oval Bar  Both these places were poised for wine appreciation as under:

	Château de la Marquetterie (CDLM), Champagne, France	Oval Bar, JW Marriott New Delhi
Format	Five courses paired dinner preceded by an aperitif session at the vineyards.	Informal tasting with accompanying hors d’œuvres
Ambience	Majestic, ethereal and overwhelming with vineyards all around. Expansive interiors silently telling the history of the centuries gone-by.	Chic, modern and fraîche, conforming to the best in hospitality standards. Dégustation area extending outdoors to breezy cabanas.
Attendance	An exclusive  group of wine professionals and journalists from India.	A diverse group of wine and spirits professionals and journalists/bloggers.
Weather	Dreamworthy	Just perfect.
Common Aspect	A congenial host from Maison Taittinger.

At Taittinger's La Marquetterie vineyards in Champagne, France

At the Cabana zone at JW Marriott,  New Delhi

The wines presented were :

Taittinger Brut Resérve (The FIFA World Cup 2014 official Champagne): A blend of all three Champagne grapes viz. Chardonnay(40%), Pinot Noir(35%) and Pinot Meunier(25%), Taittinger ages this wine for more than twice the duration prescribed by the Champagne appellation (15 months) hence resulting in its superbly mature character.

Taittinger  Rosé Prestige: Ruled by Chardonnay, this wine is blended towards the end with still Pinot Noir wine from the best areas of Montagne de Reims- the ‘capital’ of Pinot Noir grapes in the Champagne appellation. A refreshing wine with a pronounced red fruit character.

Taittinger Noturne Sec: A blend of Chardonnay (40%) and the Pinot grapes (60%), this would be the wine that you would probably date if your party begins at 10 in the night. No wonder Taittinger purports this as the one that ‘awakens at night’ . Histrionics apart, the wine has 17.5 grams per litre of added cane sugar during the making process, that qualifies it as ‘Sec’ meaning Dry.

The different tasting perceptions

Out of the above, I had already experienced the Brut Resérve and Nocturne at CDLM earlier. So did the wines taste any different? They had to- since winemaking is a hand perfected craft where churning out two items with 100% similarity is well nigh impossible even if the intention is so. Factors like variability of vintage apart from those highlighted in the table above come into play and therein lies the charm of expecting something new from a particular wine everytime you meet it . I am cautioned though, to clarify that this does not imply unpredictability in any way, since the differences are just subtle. 

Coming to the wines again:

Brut Resérve

At CDLM

We had this wine as an aperitif  while standing amidst the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay parcels surrounding CDLM. There could be no feeling comparable to tasting a wine while experiencing the very terroir it came from and could well qualify as ‘once in a lifetime’ kind of experience. The wine itself came across as a deeply inhalable whiff of fruity and floral  aromas and a sense of unadulterated pleasure on the tongue. Nothing short of heavenly!

At Oval Bar

Surrounded with multiple luxury potions like Louis Treize cognac, Bordeaux Grands Crus wines and the Super Tuscans, we already felt as having just walked the red carpet. When the wine was served while Nicolas highlighted its FIFA affiliation, an emphatic ‘goal’ was scored with its bold and complex characteristics. But unlike the contemplative mood at CDLM, we swigged it indulgently with the vast range of exotic hors d’ouvres to accompany. Immensely satiating for the senses!

Nocturne Sec

At CDLM

Served with the dessert course of Pistache Macarons, Strawberry Sorbet and a collection of fresh Red Fruits, we enjoyed a well rounded pairing defying the common fixation of pairing  dessert with  sweet wine. Again, the mood was contemplative with us trying to dissect the layers of  both food and wine to understand the similarities/ contrasts. The grand interiors of the Château along with the historical perspective of Taittinger brought out by Mme Dominique Garreta, Directrice Communication at the house made us look at the wine from yet another dimension.

At Oval Bar

The first thing I noticed was the habillage (dressing) of the bottle. As compared to a bright purple label  and a golden foil in 2012, the bottle is now in a chequered polymer covering with different hues of purple. It makes the bottle look funkier and aligned to its ‘awakening in the night’ character. Nocturne being the last wine for the evening, the stage of letting the hair down had arrived. We moved to the romantically lit up cabana area that  rendered shimmering reflections in the water in the backdrop of the night. Sampling it with Prosciutto Crostini, Lamb Pepper Fry and Smoked Salmon Blinis was a different ball game as it brought out the robust aspects of the wine.

Conclusion

What is the bottomline then? To put it in fewest words,most of the factors as enumerated in the table above are relevant to the contextual angle in wine appreciation. These and some others are:

• Format of the fixture.
• Overall Ambiance.
• Tasting group composition.
• Theme of the event.
• Type of food pairing.

And finally,  perception is a game of mind- which highlights the importance of a skilled presenter in the whole gamut. Madame Garreta and Monsieur Delion happened to excel in that.

With M. Nicolas Delion Export Manager Asia Pacific Taittinger Champagne

Q.E.D.

Taittinger wines are imported in India by Prestige Wines and Spirits Pvt Ltd. 

Retail prices ex Delhi: 

Brut Resérve ₹ 5800.00
Prestige  Rosé ₹ 7900.00
Nocturne ₹ 7500.00