The Tasting Austrian Wines event in Montreal was held at the Science Centre in Old Montreal November 7 where more than 45 winemakers from Austria traveled to Canada to present their wines.
The event started with a masterclass hosted by sommelière Isabel Bordeleau where we were introduced to 16 wines presented in 4 parts:
Part 1: overview of the 4 regions
(1) 2021 Südsteiermark DAC Sauvignon Blanc Gamlitz from Sattlerhof. A lovely Sauvignon Blanc with aromas and flavours of lychee and passion fruit.
(2) 2021 Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC from Wieninger, which I found complex but interesting.
(3) 2020 Kamptal DAC Grüner Veltliner Ried Langenloiser Kittmannsberg from Rosner.
(4) 2020 Burgenland Reserve Zweigelt from Zantho - a red wine with intense notes of chocolate which I loved. And what a nice label: burgundy velvet with a golden lizard.
Part 2: Terroir, Terroir, Terroir
(5) 2019 Traisental DAC Riesling Ried Berg from Huber Markus.
(6) 2019 Kamptal DAC Riesling Ried Seeberg Langenlois from Loimer.
(7) 2020 Niederösterreich Grüner Veltliner Ried Roggendorfer Königsberg from Fink und Kotzian OG.
(8) 2020 Kamptal DAC Grüner Veltliner Ried Käferberg from Jurtschitsch.
Part 3: off the beaten path
(9) Sekt "Kalkreich" NV Österreich from winemaker Christoph Hoch.
(10) 2020 Österreich Sauvignon Blanc "Numen Fumé Blanc" from winemaker Johannes Zillinger, with awesome flavours of apricot.
(11) 2020 Wien Gemischter Satz "Natural" from Hajszan Neumann.
(12) 2020 Weinland Syrah "Pulp Fiction No. XV (red) Bio" from Machherndl.
Part 4: red varietals
(13) 2020 Burgenland St. Laurent from Ziniel - interesting, similar to Gamay.
(14) 2018 Niederösterreich Zweigelt Ried Pillersdorfer Hochsteinerberg from Buchmayer Thomas u. Maria.
(15) 2019 Thermenregion Pinot Noir Gumpoldskirchen "Grillenhügel" from winemaker Johanneshof Reinisch, which I describe as simply "WOW", an excellent Pinot Noir.
(16) 2018 Leithaberg DAC Blaufränkisch1 from Heinrich Gernot und Heike.
This was a masterclass packed with a lot of great information on wines from Austria. Isabel Bordeleau did an awesome job!
After the masterclass, it was time to go out to the tasting area and discover other great wines from Austria.
My shout outs go to these two wineries:
- Groszer Wein whose winemaker Markus Bach was present at the event with their beautiful wines.
- WO:unchained whose winemaker Martin Obenaus was also present at the event with their great wines. I was already a fan of their Unchained Rot based on Zweigelt.
What's your knowledge of wines from Austria? Do you have a favourite?
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