jI just got back from three (count 'em THREE) weeks in Austria. You could spend as much time as you want and you'd keep finding all sorts of new stuff, but for the sake of not going for the overkill, I would maybe take a week of wine touring, but diversify a bit from the usual Wachau/Krems standbys.
Looks as if you've been talking to Hiram (or maybe the eastern-coast Skurnik folks) for your appointments - all of these producers are more than A-OK. But a lot of them, well, they're kind of the old guard, not that this is a bad thing, but Austria seems now to be in the midst of kind of a generational shift, where fathers are ceding the reins to their kids. Unlike other regions, this is a pretty smooth transition; most of the members of the families get along with each other, and the fathers began making wine in the 80s and it was their generation that felt compelled to change things so dad knew who was now in charge. The new generation has been to wine school (usually the same that dad attended), but they've done stages all over the world and they're not interested in change for the sake of change. They want to generate improvement in what their parents were doing but they are aware of the traditions as well and aren't set on changing those. This is particularly visible in the farming/viticulture regimens being used, with groups such as Respeckt! doing stuff that makes Demeter rules seem tame (but it's good for the grapes). I saw a bunch of people this trip working with soft pruning, and a lot of people are putting more effort into their soil than they are the vines, and this is not a bad thing.
I've also noticed a bit of a shift in the Wachau over the past couple of years, with producers moving away from wines with high sugar levels. Smaragd power is great and all, but there are winemakers (and their kids) who are now placing a premium on elegance and detail over overt richness. The 2013s are a pretty good example of this - it's an amazing vintage across the board, but not everyone is trying to expand the envelope. The best example of this I tasted at Vie Vinum was the 2013 Prager Steinriegl Federspiel Riesling. Maybe the single best wine I tasted in the show (well, at least top-5). Sure, the Bodensteins had riper, richer wines in 13, but this one just nailed it. And Emmerich Knoll starred as the anti-Hirtzberger/FX in his quest to harness the ripeness for good instead of evil. Can a wine have delicacy and power without sweetness? Knoll figured out a way to do it.
While in the Wachau, I'd go through whatever gyrations might be necessary to visit Peter Veyder-Malberg and maybe hang out with him in one of his vineyards. His wines are illuminating (and on the delicate side compared to the people working further downvalley), and being around him is like being with some sort of zen master kind of dude. He spends a lot of time thinking about dirt and even more time working to make it better so the vines are happier, resulting in some truly mindblowing wines.
If Nikolaihof doesn't have a room available for you, I'd pull out the Amex and stay at the Malat Weingut & Hotel in Krems. It's on the Stift Gottweig side of the Danube and is not only a beautiful place to stay with amazing breakfasts, but their winery has been in existence since the 1400s and it's in very good hands with Michael Malat, a man sporting a mane not unlike those of Randall Grahm, Charles Smith, or Gary Pisoni. His winemaking is more restrained than those guys, but his work mirrors his personality in a way. Malat is a small family operation and the wines are excellent.
You should visit Fred Loimer in Langenlois (and the recommendation above to stay at the Loiseum is good advice nice place, worth visiting the museum too). Also in the area are Weingut Jurtschitch where Alwin is taking over from his father, and Rabl, where Rudi Rabl appears poised to hand things over to his son. Excellent wines made by people who are way into the vineyards.
So time spent in the Wachau/Kremstal/Kamptal tri-region area is always time well-spent, but it’s not as if that’s all to see in Austria. If you can spare a few more days, I’d heartily recommend visiting Burgenland and Steiermark. I mean, you’ll have already gone all that way, so what’s a few extra days? Hell, if your flight is routed through Heathrow it may take that much extra time for your luggage to catch up with you, so you might as well spend it hanging out in vineyards.
Lots of interesting stuff happening in Burgenland, particularly where Blaufränkisch is concerned. Go figure, but the variety is right up there with Pinot Noir and Riesling in its ability to translate terroir through the grape and into the glass. You could do a couple of weeks just visiting producers who are doing great work, but my favorites (in no particular order) are Claus Preisinger, Paul Achs, Franz Weninger, Gernot & Heike Heinrich, and (go figure) Moric. You’ll also get to taste some killer Pinot Noir and Zweigelt, plus they all make distinctive white wines and a couple are in some stunning winery buildings. And while in the area, it’s worthwhile making a pilgrimage (of sorts) to visit Kracher. Gerhard is filling his late father’s shoes more than adequately; his lineup of dry wines is exceptional, and the sweet wines are as off-the-charts as they’ve always been.
A little further south of there you should make a detour to Riegersburg to visit the Gölles distillery. They also have a pretty great hotel (Genusshotel Riegersburg) where all the rooms have a great view of the nearby fortress. Excellent food, great wine, and of course schnapps to help the night pass quickly. Worth a trip up to the castle too (the funicular is like a scene out of “The Grand Budapest Hotel”) before heading deeper into the south toward the Slovenian border. This is where you’ll taste some of the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc. I’d visit Tement, Sattlerhof, and Gross for sure. That might be another whole day.
And lest we not forget about the wineries in Vienna proper. Fritz Wieninger is the King of the city. He makes some terrific wines, many from the Nussberg vineyard overlooking Vienna. If you’ve got time, head up to his buschenschank on the weekend and try the Alte Reben Gemischter Satz. He also just purchased the Hajszan Neumann property and there’s a heuriger at the foot of Nussberg that has some great food. There’s also a funkier Wieninger family heuriger on the other side of the Danube (about a 25 euro cab ride from the city center). Others in the city worth seeking out are Weingut Rainer Christ and Jutta Ambrositsch, who also does a seasonal buschenschank, but it’ll probably be long gone by October.
Other food in Vienna not to miss are (of course) the kasekaner from the Bitzinger stand next to the Albertina Museum (the fries are actually pretty good) and Restaurant Schnattl (great food, really good wine list). You should also head over to Le Loft at the Sofitel great wine program (lots of hard-to-find producers) and the food is pretty good. If someone offers to take you out to dinner anywhere in the city and on their dime, don’t hesitate, just go to Steiereck. Palais Coberg has one of the world’s biggest wine cellars, but the wine selection at Steiereck is awesome too, and the food, décor, and overall experience eclipses anywhere I’ve dined in the last couple of years. Not inexpensive, but if you’re going to splurge, that’s the place.
-Eden (it's also a lot of fun visiting places in Vienna that were settings in “The Third Man”, although the authorities frown on you going down into the sewer)
