THURSTQUEEN WORLD TOUR: AUSTRIA

Why you should drink Austrian wine.

Few people know about the incredible value wines that come from Austria. Austrian wines are often overshadowed by wines from other regions like Germany and Italy, but that does not mean they should be ignored. In fact, due to the relatively low-key hype of this region, knowing about Austrian wine is probably going to serve to your advantage as a wine buyer from a financial standpoint. The quality here is super high.

Austrian wines are powerful, pristine, and fruity. If sophisticated and clean white wines that practically vibrate with acidity are your thing, Austria will be your wine happy place.

I learned all about Austrian wine when I was a broker in my early twenties. I fell pretty darn hard for one of their signature white varietals - Grüner Vetliner. This thirst-quenching liquid laser beam was my go to beverage pretty much every Summer. There’s something about Grüner that brings images of crisp linen sheets, lime, and verbena to my mind. In my humble opinion, Grüner is the perfect way to beat the heat - especially if you live somewhere like Los Angeles.

I also loved how so many of the wines from Austria came in more volume-friendly sizes. In my distributor days, I was able to make friends by bringing a liter of Grüner Vetliner to parties. The stuff is relatively low in alcohol, affordable, and goes down pretty darn easy.

Let’s take a minute to chat about the history of Austrian wine, three different regions to look out for, and the different grapes that grow in each place.

HOT GOSS - THE HISTORY OF AUSTRIAN WINE

It’s time to spill the tea on the history of Austrian wine. Did you know that Austrian wine legislation is some of the strictest in all of Europe? If you’ve read my blog on Sekt, you’re probably aware of the insane amount of classifications, labels, and names assigned to a dizzying array of categories for Austrian wine.

Austria was first planted as a wine region by the Celts. Eventually the vineyards became property of the Roman Empire and after that, they were managed by monks. The wines that came out of this region back in the day were actually pretty good as generally speaking, monks tend to know what’s up in terms of making wine.

In the 19th Century, Austria was wracked with political and economic instability. Wine production wasn’t exactly on the top of the country’s priority list. People just wanted cheap and sweet wines they could swig down when they wanted to get their drink on. Eventually, in 1985, Austria hit rock bottom when a couple of wineries decided to cut some of their wines with the chemical diethylene glycol - a component commonly used in antifreeze.

Yup. That’s right. Antifreeze.

Thankfully, nobody died and the culprits were brought to justice, but it was a seriously rude awakening for the country and Austria decided to get their stuff together and revamp their image as a reputable wine producing region.

Today, Austrian winemakers are borderline obsessed with quality - and their labels are very much proof of this! The wines were introduced to the American market in the 1990s, and as a wine region Austria’s star has been steadily on the rise.

THREE AUSTRIAN WINE REGIONS TO KNOW:

THE WACHAU - A PARADISE FOR WHITE WINE LOVERS

The Wachau is one of the smallest wine regions in Lower Austria, with about 124 vineyards in the region. In the Wachau, the Blue Danube River snakes its way around the valley. The climate here is cooler, and vines of Riesling, Chardonnay, Muskateller, Pinot Blanc, Traminer, and Sauvignon Blanc thrive in this cool but sunny climate.

The vines grow in steep terraces, sectioned off by ancient rock walls to protect them from harsh weather. These walls were made centuries ago, and are considered, “dry” walls. This means there is no mortar to hold them together. Because of this, the grapes are easily able to be drained of excess moisture.

PRO TIP: AGE YOUR GRÜNER

Did you know high acid grapes like Grüner Vetliner and Riesling can age? Some of the best Grüner I’ve ever enjoyed was at least 10 years old. When aged in the right conditions, Grüner can evolve beautifully with time.

All the high acidity mellows out, and the wine evolves into a beautifully herbal, lentil, and nutty symphony of aromas.

STYRIA - ROSÉ ALL DAY, BETCH

Less than 10% of Austria’s wine production is from Styria. This lush wine region is carpeted thick with forest and has the nickname, “The Green Heart of Austria.”

For those who are fans of Natural Wine, you’ll find that Styria has several wine producers that are at the forefront of the Natural Wine movement. What I love the most about Styria is the rosé that is produced here. Styria is home to some of the freshest, fruitiest, cleanest rosés around. In Styria there is a type of rosé called schlicher, which is a very tart, bright and fruity rosé. You can also find beautiful expressions of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc as well.

BURGENLAND - A HAVEN FOR RED & SWEET WINE DRINKERS

Do you remember my post on Blaufränkisch many moons ago? Well if you don’t, I highly recommend checking it out and learning all about this spicy little varietal that happens to be the quintessential pizza wine.

It turns out, Blau takes to Burgenland like a fish does to water. Burgenland produces some of the top quality Blaus in the world due to the mild, relatively sunny climate. If red wines are your thing, be sure to check out other varietals like Zweigelt and the luscious, smooth varietal Saint Laurent.

Zweigelt is a cross between Blau and Saint Laurent, and this fruity, zingy little grape tastes like tart cherries kissed with black liquorish. Saint Laurent is the perfect red grapes for Pinophiles, with its raspberry, tobacco, and chocolate aromas.

If you have a sweet tooth…

Burgenland also produces some of the top sweet wines in the world. These wines are called Prädikatswein. I have to confess, I haven’t had the privilege of tasting these bad boys, but they are said to rival Sauternes in terms of quality.

Like Sauternes, these sweet wines are made because of the fungus called Botrytis cinera and are harvested accordingly. Burgenland also produces Eiswein, or a wine that is made when the grapes are left on the vine to freeze in the cold Austrian winters. This natural freezing process concentrates the grape’s sugars and acid levels, yielding a sweet wine.

And now let’s chat about the—

PICK OF THE WEEK: Umathum Rosé, Burgunland $18.90 @ Stanley’s Wet Goods

First off, the color on this puppy is absolutely BANANAS. It’s literally this electric neon Barbie pink that conjures up crazy images of wild nights out in Vegas or something. This photo doesn’t do it justice, but I had to snap a shot of this stunner in the glass:

I discovered the Umathum Rosé in June of 2020 right around my birthday. I brought it to a family picnic and it was one of those wines that I just had burned into my memory.

It had that same shocking electric ruby color in the glass, and was practically pulsating with vibrant acidity. Picture the same lemony sourness associated with warheads and you’ll start to understand what I’m talking about. This wine is a mixture of all three red varietals - Blau, Zweigelt, and Saint Laurent. There is an unbelievable freshness that offsets all those red fruit, cherry-berry characteristics. There’s a very refined intensity to this wine. It’s not enormous in your mouth, but it has loads of red fruit flavors like wild strawberries, cherries and the like.

This is radically different from those Provençal rosés. It’s multidimensional and has a ton of depth - in fact, I’ll wager you could probably age this rosé if you store it properly. I would definitely say this minimalist intervention, biodynamically-farmed wine has loads of high-definition fruit and is beautifully structured. The value on this wine is nuts.

Honestly? This wine is so pretty, it could be enjoyed on its own. Have it with a container full of peanut-y Pad Thai and get ready to have your world rocked.