| Austria is the only country I know of where the | | | | The wines of Vienna are serviceable, but the |
| wine is consistently better than the food. | | | | greatest contribution the Viennese make to the |
| Desserts and breads aside, Austrian cooks seem | | | | wine world is the peculiar institution known as the |
| to favor safety over creativity and everything | | | | Heurige. Heurigen (plural) are the outgrowths of |
| you eat there will be very thoroughly cooked | | | | small winemaking establishments around the city. |
| indeed. No danger of some little bug or worm | | | | They sell the wine they make and some have a |
| surviving the cooking process and rising up to | | | | very simple menu. Viennese congregate there for |
| attack you. The wine, on the other hand is | | | | the inexpensive rustic sociability as much as for |
| outrageously delicious and constantly surprising. | | | | the wine. |
| There is a lot of local variation, each region having | | | | Styria- best known for exporting governors of |
| its own character: | | | | California, Styria is also recognized for exotic |
| Burgenland- There is no place likely to make a | | | | specialties like schilcher, a white sourball of a wine |
| winelover weep with joy like Burgenland. In the | | | | and uhudler a rough little rose made from grapes |
| southeast corner of the country, it shares a large | | | | grown on ungrafted American rootstock. Styrian |
| shallow, temperature-moderating lake with | | | | pinot blanc can rival the products of Alsace. |
| Hungary. Widely appreciated for its sweet wines, | | | | Vintages: 2003 was a great year in Austria and |
| it is home to the astonishing Blaufraenkisch. This | | | | there's not much '03 left around. '04 was |
| red grape has the spicy signature of a grenache | | | | disappointing and some winemakers tried to cover |
| and the lush fruitiness of good ol' Zinfandel. Prices | | | | the lack of ripeness with the tang of new |
| are astonishingly low. | | | | oak-results were variable. The current vintage-'05, |
| (By the way, one of the important wine towns in | | | | looks promising and winemakers are cautiously |
| Burgenland is called Rust. Contrary to popular | | | | optimistic about '06. '07 was just making its way |
| opinion, Rust does sleep and in fact, it goes to | | | | to the fermenter on my last trip. |
| bed early and draws in the sidewalks when it | | | | Having said all this good stuff, I have to admit |
| does) | | | | that these wines are not easy to find in the US |
| Lower Austria (which includes The Wachau) - is | | | | and Canada. Big producers like Kacher make it |
| the largest and commercially most important | | | | here and you can sometimes find stellar reds |
| region.. Look for white wines based on riesling and | | | | under ten euros from the Vitikult co-op. Be sure |
| the fleshy, luscious gruener veltliner. | | | | to look for names like Nittnaus, Umathum and |
| Vienna- Austrians are fond of pointing out that | | | | Heinrich. |
| Vienna is the only capital city in the world that | | | | If your local wine merchant can't help, well, |
| makes its own wine. They are right to be proud. | | | | Austria is pretty this time of year. |