Vineyards we adore
Some vineyard sites in Austria evoke very special memories for the Wine+Partners team. Can you guess why?
Henrike Heinicke The path to wine
My first contact with top Austrian wines was in Geisenheim, when I met fellow student Johannes Jurtschitsch. He showed me what Kamptal had to offer back in 2016. Five years later, I was finally able to see for myself when I hiked along the beautiful wine trail in Langenlois for the first time. At Ried Käferberg, one of the 1ÖTW Erste Lage vineyards, I made an appointment with Johannes. It was the big reunion after our studies together. We chatted about Kamptal, the diversity of Erste Lage sites and reminisced over a glass of Grüner Veltliner with a view of the Schneeberg in the distance.
Marion Topitschnig Vienna at its best
Nussberg is one of my favourite places to walk. No matter what time of year, day or night, the view of Vienna never fails to inspire me. The wines that grow here do the same. First and foremost Fritz Wieninger's Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC from the Ried Rosengartel 1ÖTW, which has been known since imperial times as ‘the filet steak of Nussberg'. The calcareous sandstone and high quartz content characterise this predominantly south-facing site and form the basis for multi-layered wines with a distinctive terroir. Tip: A best of Nussberg can be tasted just a few minutes' walk from the Rosengartel, in Fritz Wieninger's wine tavern.
Astrid Rauch Family ties
My father has always been a big fan of red wine, and those made from the Blaufränkisch variety are among his absolute favourites. For him, the best come from Carnuntum. On our trips to the former Roman metropolis, we not only looked at ancient treasures, but visited its charming wine taverns, tasted various red wines and philosophised about them. Unfortunately, he is no longer mobile, so I sometimes bring him one or two vinophile treasures from Carnuntum. He is particularly fond of the Spitzerberg. The ÖTW designates the southern slope of the Spitzerberg as an Erste Lage, one of the best red wine sites in Austria. My father raves about Dorli Muhr's Ried Spitzerberg-Obere Roterd 1ÖTW and tries to describe it like a sommelier for my sake: "Ultra-fine, incredibly silky, delicately spicy, elegant and powerful, multi-layered, great drinking flow...another glass please!"
Ute Watzlawick Time and again
Kremstal has many famous neighbours. Wachau, Kamptal, Traisental and Wagram are all just around the corner – so can be hard to pinpoint what makes it special. Yet its Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners really are in a category of their own. The crystal-clear fruit, paired with the minerality that comes from the soil of weathered primary rock, really does produce exceptionally beautiful wines here. If I had to choose one vineyard (not an easy task!) then it would be Ried Kögl. Perhaps also because the Riesling Ried Kögl 1ÖTW Erste Lage from Bertold Salomon never fails to impress. Year after year, this vineyard demonstrates what it can do.
Catherine Walbridge Pinot Noir was my first love
It all started with Pinot Noir. This was the variety that made me fall in love with wine, back in New Zealand, where I lived for a long time. When I came to Austria, I got to know many new grape varieties, some with very complicated names, at least for English speakers! But Pinot Noir has always held a special place in my heart – that's what connects me to Heinrich Hartl. He dreamt of replanting Pinot noir vines that once grew at his family winery in Thermenregion, a desire that only grew stronger when he worked in Alto Adige and New Zealand. In 2001, he finally replanted the 1.2 hectare Ried Graf Weingartl 1ÖTW vineyard in Oberwaltersdorf with Pinot Noir from Burgundy and German Spätburgunder clones. The first single vineyard wine was launched in 2007. Since then, you can feel Heinrich Hartl's passion and care for Pinot Noir in every glass of the finesse-rich ‘Graf Weingartl’.
Dorli Muhr Limestone rocks!
Limestone is my absolute favourite terroir. I admire the tightness, the brilliant finesse and the elegant lightness of the wines that grow on limestone. This is just as true of Spitzerberg in Carnuntum as it is of the Ried Berg 1ÖTW in Traisental. The best wines from this site are dense and complex, without even a hint of power or opulence. Like a prima ballerina, just the way I love it!
Elisabeta Aftin United in friendship
Born and raised in Upper Austria, I spent many summers by the lakes. When I later moved to Vienna, fate was kind to me because I quickly made friends from from Mörbisch in Burgenland. These friendships often took me to the Neusiedl lake, where I not only spent wonderful days by the water, but also enjoyed countless evenings with excellent wines.
Today, when I have the Blaufränkisch Gloriette Ried Kirchberg in my glass, it brings a smile to my face, because every sip is full of wonderful memories of these shared moments. The grapes for Erwin Tinhof's great Blaufränkisch come from 60-year-old vines rooted in Leitha limestone. This makes the wine not only full of character, but also extremely profound – like the friendships that connect me to Leithaberg.
Bettina Bäck Still & steep
I remember Ried Kranachberg as one of the quietest places in southern Styria. Hannes Sabathi's winery, the vineyard, the forest around it. It must be almost twenty years ago. Back then I walked up and down the steep Kranachberg countless times with the winemaker, usually with a journalist in tow, and listened with fascination to the stories of the Kranachberg vineyard. It is the Sabathis' local mountain and the centre of their lives. The winemaker grew up here, in his mother's home. He knows every stone and every vine. I've never met anyone so deeply rooted in a vineyard. I have learnt first hand about sandy gravel soils, microclimates in basin sites, salty minerality on the palate and how a 60 percent gradient feels in the legs! The Grosse Ried is and remains special.
Marlies Auer In love with more than the landscape
Having grown up near the Wachau, I have always been fascinated by the picturesque Danube valley. I find the dry stone walls particularly fascinating, as they not only have a positive impact on viticulture, but also promote biodiversity in the vineyards. In 2017, I finally lost my heart to the Wachau – to a winegrower. Simon Gattinger gave me a new perspective on the region and showed me how labour intensive these stone terraces really are. My absolute favourite vineyard, which I can now call my ‘home vineyard’, is Ried Loibenberg. Anyone who has ever helped with the harvest here knows what real winemaking means. The imposing vineyard, characterised by Gföhl gneiss, gives the Rieslings in particular an unmistakable character.
Victoria Nitsch A special day
I still remember a special trip while I lived abroad, when I returned to visit my parents in my home town of Vienna. They took me to Wagram and even the car journey through the picturesque sea of vines was a pleasure. A premiere awaited me at the Fritsch winery: I tasted Roter Veltliner for the first time, and the one from Ried Steinberg 1 ÖTW was particularly memorable for me. I was also impressed by the fact that Karl Fritsch works biodynamically, as environmental issues and sustainability are particularly close to my heart. After that, we also tasted Fritz Salomon's wines, then ended the day at the Gut Oberstockstall restaurant. The excellent food, the perfectly matched Wagram wines and the Tuscan flair made the evening an unforgettable experience.
Lydia Schima Place of longing
On the one hand, I find it very difficult to limit myself to a single vineyard in southern Burgenland. I have vivid memories and emotions in many of these vineyards that almost overwhelm me when I visit them or read about them on a label. A late summer afternoon in Ried Rosengarten in Rechnitz, where the smell of wildflowers and carrot greens that my fingers brush over stream from the glass into my nose; a morning spring concert by the Kleincsater bird orchestra; that tingling euphoria as soon as you turn on the last bend that leads to the steep Eisenberg sea of vineyards, a deep, calming breath over the Ried Szapary and Ried Saybritz before what feels like every life-changing event.
But then I actually do know...there is one vineyard where everything comes together and I always need a bottle of it in my flat. It is a vineyard where the evenings are always purple, where I spend hours chatting with old and new friends between Blaufränkisch and Welschriesling vines and mulling over ideas - whether early or late, picking cherries and dancing over sandy loam and gravel at night, where I lay on the ground between violets and stood high up on ladders. A vineyard that feels like both arrival and departure – whether there or in a glass. And that is Ried Ratschen.