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Visit to Weingut Birgit Eichinger

  In America, even dedicated fans of Austrian wine have probably not heard of Birgit Eichinger. This is a pity, because in Austria she is consistently recognized as producing top quality Grüner Veltliner and Riesling wines. Once the rest of the world catches on, these wines will be even harder to get, and right now […]

Which Austrian Wine Grape?

It’s just a couple of weeks before the big trip, and I’m researching “everything about everything” when it comes to Austria. Some will recognize Grüner Veltliner as Austria’s signature wine grape but there are many others, both red and white, that I will be exploring on this trip.

The world of grape varieties seems almost like a modern novel – adding to the intrigue of sheer variety are questions of lineage and parentage, immigration from foreign lands, sudden rock star like popularity, and falls from grace.

Consider these red grape varieties and their pseudonyms:

Blaufränkisch (aka Lemburger, Limburger). Why is this red grape so blue (blau)? Considered by some to be the most Austrian of them all.
Zweigelt. Rock-star on the rise. Born 1922. Love child of Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent.
St. (Sankt) Laurent. Hardly a saint, and a mysterious past. May have sneaked over from France and some say descended directly from two Pinot Noir parents.

N.B., Austrian Wine USA offers a “cheat sheet” to the top Austrian red wines here: Austrian Red Cheatsheat.