{"id":546,"date":"2019-07-31T04:49:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T04:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/?p=546"},"modified":"2021-03-03T06:40:04","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T06:40:04","slug":"re-appraising-the-weinviertel-by-jack-simmonds-hahndorf-hill-brand-ambassador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/?p=546","title":{"rendered":"Reappraising the Weinviertel – By Jack Simmonds, Hahndorf Hill Brand Ambassador"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I have a confession to make: In my life I have taken as gospel many things I have read or heard with little to no first-hand experience. I believe man went to the moon fifty years ago this month; in my heart of hearts I am convinced that if given a competitive car Daniel Ricciardo could be a Formula One world champion; and I accepted that the Weinviertel region in Lower Austria made only cheap bulk wine but for a handful of maverick producers making wines of quality.  On a recent trip to the region I was initiated into the truth beyond that last and what I now know to be utterly erroneous statement and quickly committed my sword (or in this case pen) to help correct this widely held misconception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Welcome to the Weinviertel – Austria’s largest wine producing region<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finding an interesting article or recipe in a well-thumbed waiting-room\nmagazine, discovering a hidden bonus track at the end of your favourite album\nor flicking over to a genuinely funny comedian on late night TV, can all excite\nand gift a flare of thrill. You have found a diamond in the rough, an\nunexpected treat in the most unlikely of places. Now imagine that diamond is\nnot the exception but the rule and you are not toiling away in an underground\nmine but strolling through Aladdin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cave, a sparking place stacked with gems.\nWelcome to the Weinviertel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The rolling fertile plains of the Weinviertel<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I began my journey through the Weinviertel in the centuries-old town of\nPoysdorf. A Google search suggested a travel time from Vienna of around 50\nminutes but as I hired a local Uber driver to whom speed limit signs were more\nof a suggestion than a restriction, I arrived at my hotel about twenty minutes\nearlier than predicted. After changing into some fresh trousers and confirming\nmy will was in fact up to date, I made my way to the local Vinothek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bright and airy Weinmarkt tasting bar at the VinoVersum Wine Museum\n& Tourism Centre rotates through around three dozen bottles of local wines\nat any one time. White wines are dominant in this area but a few wines of a\nmore pronounced complexion are also opened to taste. The Weinviertel<\/a>\nis Gruner Veltliner country but she has graciously made some room for\nWelschriesling, Riesling, Muller Thurgau and Zweigelt. The staff were very\nfriendly and knowledgeable with excellent English. Attached to the vinothek is\na very good museum detailing the region\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rich history with a special focus on its\ngrapegrowing and vinification traditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flight of wines I tried in the Vinothek left me a little confused; I\nhad expected to find tooty-fruity Sauvignon Blanc-like wines with little\nfinesse or structure, but the first bracket of wines were anything but, so I\nkept tasting, then I tasted some more. Something was afoot here; almost all of\nthe two dozen wines I tasted had been made with care and by people who prize things\nlike balance, texture and spice. It was at this point I took down a handful of\naddresses of local producers and set off down Poysdorf\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sloped and winding\nlaneways in search of answers. Was the selection at the Vinothek really\nrepresentative of the region? Did we have this place all wrong? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Aspergerhaus\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is one of the prettiest buildings in the region and\nhas been a functioning winery for centuries; no-one is quite sure exactly when\nit was built but it is known to pre-date the parish church consecrated in 1640.\nThe Taubenschuss family took up residence in the 1850s but was already well\nestablished in the wine industry, being first mentioned in 1670. A modern\nwinery and cellar was built under the rear wing of the house in the 1990s, and\nthe marriage between old and new is seamless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tasting with Thomas Taubenschuss of the highly regarded Weingut Taubenschuss<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I met Thomas Taubenschuss when I accidently interrupted a tasting he was\npresenting to a group of Hungarian restaurateurs in the family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beautiful\ntasting room. We met in the courtyard of what I now know to be the private\nresidence. Upon realising my mistake I quickly introduced myself and outlined\nmy mission: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153As a fellow producer of Gruner Veltliner I have come all the way\nfrom Australia to learn for myself the real Weinviertel.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Only too aware of the\nregion\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reputation for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153entry level\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or fruit-driven bulk wine, he insisted I\nstay and join his group for lunch. I apologised for interrupting and tried to\narrange a meeting for later in the day, but Thomas refused to let me go. He saw\nsomeone as serious about his passion as he was, and he would not let me out of\nhis sight until he was confident I really understood what they were trying to\ndo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The ancient Hermannschachern single vineyard block features very deep loess<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After a delicious lunch in a local restaurant with the Hungarians,\nThomas and I strolled back to the house and toured the underground winery and\ncellars. Here I got to see first-hand the care and attention paid at every step\nof the process; this cellar produces delicate and pure wines that truly speak\nof the terroir. A short drive from the winery atop a gently sloping hill is\ntheir premier Hermannschachern block; deep loess with a limestone and gravel\nsediment provide flinty minerality and the region\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s signature white pepper\nspice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas generously guided me through his whole range of whites and I can\nhonestly say I enjoyed every one; this was Gruner Veltliner in her Sunday best\n– fresh, complex and textural. I must give the 2015 Grosse Reserve MX Alte\nReben a special mention; had I been at home with this bottle I would have\nturned off the lights, locked the door and pretended I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t home. If you are\nlucky enough to have a bottle of your own be sure to only open this around\npeople you like; every drop is to be jealously guarded. The 2015 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153MX\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is ripe\nand creamy but so much more; an almost briny minerality expertly balances and\nfreshens the richness … a Reserve style in the truest sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have spoken already of the Taubenschuss generosity but it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t stop\nwith lunch and a comprehensive tasting; keen to show me more of his favourite local\nwines, Thomas started to work the phone and we drove to the other side of the\nvillage to visit his friend Melanie of Weingut Weinrieder. Thomas offered to\nstay and taste with me as Melanie doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t speak much English and I quickly\nsensed between the two a mutual respect and shared passion for the land both\nfamilies have loved for generations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some impressive beauties from Weingut Weinrieder<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Like Taubenschuss, the Rieder family source their fruit from several of\nthe region\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s premium blocks – and it shows. The Classic styles of Gruner\nVeltliner are elegant and sophisticated with fresh spice and acid; the Reserve\nwines are leaner than the Smaragd style of the Wachau but no less textural and\ncultured. White pepper, stone fruit, citrus and pear all link to pique turn\nacross the palate. I especially enjoyed the 2013 Hohenleiten\nLagenreserve <\/a>which would pair perfectly with roast pork, charcuterie or\nfresh fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weinrieder was originally founded on Ice Wine and the 2014 vintage\nexcited me immensely as it reminded me of our own dessert-style Green Angel\nGruner Veltliner. Honeyed pears and white pepper are the signature of this\nsurprisingly light wine and at only 180 grams of residual sugar, I was glad to taste\na kinship and shared philosophy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My second day in Poysdorf dawned clear and bright; the golfers on the\ncourse next to my hotel were out early and I enjoyed a hearty breakfast in\npreparation for another big day of tasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first meeting was with Monika Neustifter, fourth generation winemaker\nof Weingut Neustifter, one of the largest producers in the region. Carved into\nthe hillside, the winery and cellars extend deep underground and are home to\nbarrels of all sizes. It was there that I was let into a little secret; all\naround the village I had seen pictures and sculptures of a stylised black cat\nwhich had over time become an unofficial mascot of the town. Legend has it each\nwinery had a pet cat that would guard what it judged to be the best wine in the\ncellar by sitting atop the barrel all day long. The locals would then put a\nblack cat on the bottles drawn from that barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discovering the secret to the black cat phenomenon in the cellars at Weingut Neustifter<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Modern vintners noticed the barrels selected were always the dessert styles\nstill going through their long slow ferment and therefore radiating heat; hence\nthe cats had simply found the warmest spot in the cool cellar. The Keller Katze\nor Cellar Cats were also thought to have supernatural powers. Their refusal to\nenter the underground cellars warned of an often deadly build-up of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153evil air\u00e2\u20ac\u009d,\nwhich we now know to be carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weingut Neustifter produces eight distinct Gruner Veltliners ranging\nfrom the fruit forward, to the lean and minerally Classics, decadent Reserves\nand a Natural. The white pepper prized in the Weinviertel is a constant; the\nClassic styles revelled in their white blossom, musk and tropical fruits, while\nthe Reserves balanced spice with chalky tannins and creamy orchard fare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2018 DAC Klassik with its lifted pear and lychee put me in mind of\nour White Mischief, perfect for sharing with friends in the sun or to accompany\nan intimate take-away curry for two. The 2015 Hermannschachern Reserve with its\ncustard apple, crystallised orange peel and almost oriental spice, is a wine to\nbe sipped with roast chicken, buttery Morten Bay bugs or the deepest dark\nchocolate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourteen years ago Erich Schreiber resigned from his high-flying banking\njob in Vienna and returned home to take over the family business. His family\nhad been in the wine industry for generations but Erich\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s passion lay in the\npouring, discussing and drinking rather than in the making. In Poysdorf he\nconverted the family home and cellars first recorded in 1609 into the Wino\nVinothek & Wein Bar, and never looked back. I emailed Erich before I left\nAustralia to book a table and asked if he could put together a flight or two\nthat would in his experience best represent the Weinviertel region – and he did\nnot let me down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Man with a mission – Erich Schreiber of Wino Vinothek & Wein Bar in Poysdorf<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I could listen to Erich for hours; his passion for his region is all\nconsuming and he knows each of his 129 suppliers personally. He knows the back\nstory, philosophy and production methods of every bottle he sells and I can\nalmost see him swell with pride that others are starting to take notice of what,\nis in his mind, the most under-represented region in Austria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tasted through five flights of six wines apiece, each expertly\nassembled to highlight a theme, style, vintage or sub-region. I tasted\nClassics, Reserves, a few Natural wines and even a couple of Gemischter Satz\nwines, a style made famous by the Viennese but also embraced here in the north.\nThe Wino Vinothek & Wein Bar is a warm and welcoming place that puts no\nvalue in snobbery. Erich personally welcomes every customer with a handshake or\nkiss and a lucky few get both! The wine list is carefully considered and I can\nhighly recommend the platters of meats, cheeses and pickles. I very much\nenjoyed my afternoon\/evening at Wino and will definitely call through again in\nthe future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Weinviertel is Austria\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest wine producing region but, as much\nas I enjoyed the wines of Poysdorf, my brief was to really get to grips with\nthe region as a whole. It was time to move on; an hour or so down the road is\nthe town of Retz. First mentioned 900 years ago but officially incorporated in\n1278, Retz has deep roots. Through a combination of location, logistics and a\nseries of privileges granted by successive monarchs, Retz has been at the heart\nof the Eastern European wine trade for centuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The twin fountains in Retz flow with red and white wine respectively during the town’s end of vintage festival<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The town sits on a deep layer of highly compacted quartz sand which once\nformed the bed of a primordial inland sea. This sand which is very stable but\neasily excavated is perfect for tunnelling out cellars, and that is what the\npeople of Retz have been doing for centuries. There are over twenty kilometres\nof passages under the town; a network more extensive than even the road system above\nand new tunnels are still being discovered and charted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The remarkable Althof Retz Vinothek showcases over 200 wines from 80 local producers<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A guided tour of the cellar network finishes in what was the basement\nlevel of a 700 year-old castle but is now home to the Althof Retz Vinothek, which\nranges over 200 wines from 80 local producers. The manager of this space is the\ndelightful Doris who, upon hearing my mission, insisted on looking after me herself,\nand look after me she did. Under Doris\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 watchful eye I was treated to seven\nflights she personally curated to best demonstrate the underlying DNA but also\nthe variation in the Weinviertel DAC.  Winemaking\nis all about embracing and highlighting the variables unique to your patch and\nin a region as large as the Weinviertel, the variations can be profound. But,\nafter following Doris through dozens of vineyards, large and small, high and\nlow, warm and cool, I am now tuned into the underlying bassline of this place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wines and winemakers of the Weinviertel have been put down and\nmisrepresented for centuries. Until relatively recently the region was mostly\nmixed farms with grape vines growing alongside other crops and livestock; a\nnecessity in a poor agrarian region. It was this diversification that kept the\nlocals fed but also caused the more prestige Austrian regions to look down on\nthese so-called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153amateurs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d; but, as is so often the case, the high took their\neye off the low. In that time a passionate and dedicated few inspired the\nenthusiastic many into a complete rejection of the status quo. Those who once\nlooked down their nose are now looking over their shoulder at a Weinviertel\nthat can more than hold its own at any black-tie dinner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this article achieves just one thing, let it be to not believe\neverything you hear. I accepted the words of others and in not seeking my own\nanswers I very nearly missed out. The Weinviertel hears the gossip and\nwhispered slights but has committed itself to rise above it; to make wines of\nsubtlety, elegance, texture and soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weinguts Taubenschuss, Weinrieder and Neustifter, and the vinotheks Wino\nand Althof Retz, are representative of a proud Weinviertel that is not only the\npower-house of the Austrian wine industry but is also its flagbearer for some of\nAustria\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most exciting wines. I have never been so glad to have been so wrong.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a confession to make: In my life I have taken as gospel many things I have read or heard with little to no first-hand experience. I believe man went to the moon fifty years ago this month; in … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,47,31,29,18,39,27,50,35,5,30,22,55,33,1,8,16],"tags":[48,37,49,44,42,32,11,28,54,36,9,38,21,52,40],"class_list":["post-546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adelaide-hills","category-adelaide-hills-best-cellar-door","category-adelaide-hills-gruner-veltliner","category-adelaide-hills-wine","category-adelaide-hills-wine-region","category-blaufrankisch","category-cool-climate-wine","category-dessert-wine-aelaide-hills","category-diurnal-variation-temperature","category-gruner-veltliner","category-gruner-veltliner-australia","category-hahndorf","category-rose","category-st-laurent","category-uncategorized","category-wine","category-zweigelt","tag-adeaide-hills-cellar-door","tag-adelaide-hills","tag-adelaide-hills-cellardoor","tag-adelaide-hills-wine","tag-adelaide-hills-wine-region","tag-adelaide-hills-winery","tag-blaufrankisch","tag-cool-climate-wines","tag-dessert-wine-gruner-veltliner","tag-diurnal-variation-temperature-grapes","tag-gru","tag-gruner-veltliner","tag-hahndorf-hill-gruner-veltliner","tag-sticky-wine-adelaide-hills","tag-zweigelt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thegrufiles.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}