Words by Tobias Gorn
When my friend Colin Hampden-White of the Three Drinkers offered me a chance to contribute to their beautiful and ever so growing world of drinks news and fun, educational content I was over the moon. It’s an absolute honour and a real pleasure to support this trio of friends and wonderfully entertaining colleagues. So, for my first piece, I have picked something slightly off the beaten track and also close to my heart that I think everyone will love once they give it a chance: Austrian wine.
Why Austrian wine is worth a look
No one knows if such a thing as an ‘Austrophile’ exists, but don’t we love all things Austrian? Well almost all… Arguably the best skiing, rich and delicious food and naturally very intriguing wine and wonderful spirits based on local specialities. Right now, it is Autumn time and I keep catching myself sneaking Austrian reds into my wine recommendations in my regular columns. One just can't help it. Most wine buffs know zesty, fresh Gruner Veltliners and dry, mineral Rieslings from Austria and their lovely late harvested sweet, honeyed wines including some TBA* and ice wine, but reds are a tiny bit lesser known and less obvious choices from this beautiful, mountainous region of Central Europe.
The holy trinity of Austrian grapes
The trinity of Austrian red grape varieties, St Laurent, Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch are real secret favourites and a guilty pleasure whenever one is designing a wine list or at the dining table with the family. The easiest way to explain these three is that they have usually a lighter tannin structure with a tad higher, crisper acidity and some spices and crunchy dark cherries in common. This is only just a vague explanation with major generalisation but why don’t we just imagine a wine between a richer, but still crisp and fruity Pinot Noir and a lighter, more refined fresher Syrah with all sorts of red and dark fruits and scented fresh crunchy morello cherries with a touch of sweet spices?
These aromatic red wines are never really cheap but given the last twenty-odd years of innovation and adding the latest technology to tradition, they are really worth that little extra investment. The beauty is the clean and fine aromatics with a great balance between lovely soft tannins and acidity, rich red fruit and tart cherry and cranberry notes and beautiful warm spices reminiscent of a Christmas lunch. They are pretty versatile and can produce lighter rose wines; a fresh pale ruby red wine - that in some cases can be treated as a rose and enjoyed cold but it is actually a crispy lighter, acid driven super fresh pale red without any detectable tannins – through some more structure youthful Pinot-esk expression to some serious spicier and bigger wines with fine oak aging and longevity a bit like a Northern Rhone Syrah.
The St Laurent grape variety
St Laurent is actually indeed an offspring of Pinot Noir so the zesty fresh strawberry and cranberry zippiness is not at all surprising, especially when the Autumn forest floor aromatics start to develop after a couple of years of aging. Adding the fact in the mix that Zweigelt is the crossing of Blaufränkisch and St Laurent is not making our life much easier to distinguish between them beautiful local varieties, but we really do not have to.
The Zweigelt grape variety
Zweigelt was created by Fritz Zweigelt in 1922 and it has been a great and spicy Central European local speciality ever since. It has a distinctive red paprika powder note on top of the fine dark cherries and plums.
Blaufränkisch
Finally, Blaufränkisch seems to be the bigger and more serious member of the family with a greater maturation potential and bigger tannins when picked riper. It is a real autumn variety and it ripens later than the other two. It was thought it is a clone of Gamay – the variety of your favourite Beaujolais from Southern Burgundy. When it is picked a bit earlier it can display fantastic fresh cinnamon, zesty ripe morello cherries, red plums and even blackberries. It is a great wine to match with roasted lamb or even pheasant and slightly heavier cheeses. All the three are very lovable and we can’t recommend them enough. Most of these Austrian wines are not cheap but they are produced to a very high standard and they should very rarely disappoint with their real local character, ability to display the typicity that some like to call ‘terroir’ and they are unique and intriguing with their fine nuances and friendly personality.
Perfect food wines
The great news is that all the three grapes are ideal food partners. Their fresh acidity makes them very versatile and they can go with creamier dishes including the local stews but even curries and a Stroganoff. The earthy, autumn leaf notes and ripe red berry fruit makes these wines perfect for more gamey, earthy flavours, such as lamb or even grouse and pheasant. The heavier oak aged end wines are delightful with venison or even with blue cheese. When cooking, just use a bit of paprika powder and a pinch of black pepper so your dish to make your Austrian red wine sing.
Recommended wines
I have two favourites to recommend. Both wines are brilliant examples of fine Austrian reds for the Autumn – and as a bonus they are not that hard to pronounce after all! You can find them both at 9 Elms Wines.
‘Feuersbrunn’ Zweigelt, Anton Bauer, 2017
This Zweigelt from Anton Bauer is complex and broad with savoury spicy notes, smoked paprika powder and wild strawberries and some ripe dark plums and cherries. There is a bit of chorizo and freshly crushed red pepper in the background. The palate is bright and fresh with juicy morello cherries, cranberries and red plums. It starts with refreshing acidity and continues with exceptionally smooth, silky tannins. So moreish and refreshing it is hard not to down it however one should really enjoy the fine spicy nuances and the beautiful balance and light elegance of this beauty.
Size: 750ml
ABV: 13%
Find here: £17.99
Reunion Bläufrankisch, Kracher & Wieder, 2017
Our other favourite is the Reunion - a joint project between the famous Kracher winery and Wieder. I am biased as I love this Bläufrankisch so much; a spicier expression that is similar to a lighter Syrah with its staple black cherry and paprika powder quality and fine cinnamon and plum hints supported by a little freshly crushed black pepper and herbal notes. It is a superb example and as always, we have consulted some friends in the wine industry, and they have all agreed this is a fine choice and a fantastic value example of modern wine making combined with a traditional local variety.
Size: 750ml
ABV: 13.5%
Find here: £20.69
Don’t forget to also check out 13 luxury red wines you should be drinking now and why boxed wine should not be overlooked.