Austria’s Revival

Wine lovers with long memories may be wary of Austrian wine.  The so-called ‘anti-freeze’ scandal of the 1980s has cast a long shadow.  For those readers who are puzzled by my opening comments, the problem was that a few of that country’s producers illegally added diethylene glycol (not anti-freeze, but with a chemically similar sounding name) to their wines to increase their sweetness.  The addition apparently caused no harm to anyone drinking the wines but it shouldn’t have happened and it proved far from harmless to the Austrian wine industry, which was devastated with sales collapsing both at home and abroad.

It has taken decades to rebuild but now, 30 years later and backed by some of the strictest wine laws in the world, Austria is re-emerging as a producer of high quality wines at generally affordable prices.  The local speciality is Grüner Veltliner, a grape that is becoming quite fashionable (with good reason) and there are some delicious Rieslings available, too, both dry, in the style of Alsace, and wonderfully sweet.  But a combination of changes in consumers’ taste and a bit of global warming has meant that Austrian reds, at one time, a tiny part of their output, have become much more important.  And that’s a good thing if a bottle I opened recently is a typical example:

Hans Igler’s Zweigelt Classic (Wine Society, £9.50) is quite light-bodied but full of flavour – blackberries, black pepper and a subtle hint of wood.  The Zweigelt grape (another local speciality) gives it good, refreshing acidity and attractive soft tannins.  Good for drinking now (decant an hour or so in advance) or keep another couple of years.

As someone who remembers the Austrian wines of the 1980s and the scandal that followed, it’s been good to see their re-emergence onto the international scene over the past few years.  Austria today produces a range of reliable, good quality and good values wines – still mainly white but now their reds are clearly worth looking at, too.

Interesting and Unusual

Regular Bristol Wine Blog readers know I’m always keen to taste wines made from different grape varieties or in obscure wine regions.  So, the Bristol Tasting Circle’s latest theme, ‘Interesting and Unusual Wines’, was just perfect for me.  Especially as the wines were chosen and presented by Rachel from one of our best local independent wine merchants, Corks of Cotham (and now of North Street and at Cargo, too).

And from the moment I first looked at the tasting list, my anticipation was heightened: almost half the wines were from grape varieties I’d never tasted before.  But, it’s not good enough for a wine just to be unusual, it has to be enjoyable, too.  And these, in the main, certainly were.

Among the reds, 2 in particular stood out for me: 7 Fuentes Suertes del Marques (£15.99) is a juicy, black-fruited wine made mainly with the Listan Negra grape variety grown on volcanic soils in Tenerife in the Canary Islands.  This is still young and will benefit from a couple more years or decanting whereas Envinate’s Tinto Amarela (£21) from Estramadura on the Spanish mainland would be delicious now – quite fresh in character and full of attractive sour cherry flavours.  

Spain also provided one of my 2 top whites, the simply named Reto Ponce (£17.99).  Herby and citrusy with pleasant aromas of fennel, this is from the local Albillo grape grown in the hills above Valencia, an area hitherto much better known for its reds, particularly from the variety Monastrel (aka Mourvedre).

But my favourite wine of the evening was from Austria.

Johanneshof Reinisch’s Gumpoldskirchner Tradition (£14.99) is both a mouthful to pronounce and a delicious mouthful to taste.  From a blend of Zierfandler and Rotgipfler, this is wonderfully fragrant – almost like a Gewurztraminer on first nose – with spicy, honeyed flavours but a completely dry finish just begging to be teamed with a noble fish in a creamy and perhaps slightly spicy sauce.

All in all, a fascinating tasting, showing just how many different tastes and styles are out there just waiting to be discovered – and, incidentally, the benefits of a good independent wine merchant who can home in on the best of them for their customers.

The Latest ‘In’ Variety

I’ve blogged before about how different grape varieties can be subject to changing fashion.  For example, Chardonnay, has switched from being all the rage a few years ago to membership of the ‘anything but’ club today.  On the other hand, Cabernet Sauvignon seems to have been ‘in’ for as long as I can remember while Riesling, despite the best efforts of winemakers and show judges, seems to be forever ‘out’.  And all for no obvious reason – it just seems to depend on public perception at the time.

So, what’s ‘in’ at the moment?  White varieties seem more prone to fashion than red.  Sauvignon Blanc, especially from New Zealand, is certainly on a high and Pinot Grigio, too – although unless the quality of much of the latter improves, I predict its fate is likely to follow that of Liebfraumilch before long.

You can usually spot grapes that are becoming fashionable by an increase in the regions in which they’re planted.  Viognier, for example, has spread rapidly in recent years from one small corner of France to California and Australia.  And now the process is being repeated with the hitherto little-known central European variety, Grüner Veltliner.  It’s a variety I’ve enjoyed for some time – its lovely rich and slightly peppery flavours go really well with full flavoured and quite spicy dishes but it wasn’t until recently that I’d seen an example from anywhere other than Austria or Hungary.

Yet, there it was on the shelf at Majestic Wine: a Grüner Veltliner from the excellent Waimea Estate in Nelson at the top of New Zealand’s South Island (£9.95).  And it seems to have made the transition well; all the typical flavours of the grape were there: peaches, apricots and gentle spice, beautifully fresh and clean and with hints of white pepper on a long finish.  Delicious!  Is this the latest ‘in’ grape?  It surely deserves to be.