My family and I are taking a trip to Germany and Austria this Summer, and other than a short side trip to Hungary, will be in one of those two countries for almost a month.
I’m keen to try different locally grown wines while I’m there, and would welcome any thoughts as to what wineries, etc to look for? I’m not seeking to spend crazy $ on any bottles, just some general guidance would be welcome.
I’m vaguely familiar that it will be a lot of Rieslings, Gruner Veltliner, etc.
Well, this is a big topic. Are you looking to visit wineries and do tastings, or just looking out for good wines in restaurants and stores?
What are your preferences as to wine. Certainly, Riesling dominates Germany and Riesling and GV Austria, but very good reds can be had, as well. Do you like or are you willing to try wines with residual sugar? That will be one of the big differences between the two countries with whites, because while almost all Austrian white will be dry unless specifically marked as some sort of late-harvest style, German Riesling has a much broader bandwidth of wines with residual sugar. Let us know your preferences and many of us on the board can help out.
As far as prices, I would also say that given current exchange rates, the same wines are generally 25% to 40% cheaper in country than exported here when bought in a wine store, though that varies by winery and by importer, of course. My sense is restaurant mark-ups in Germany and Austria are also generally less than in the U.S., more like 1.5-2x retail rather than the 2-3x typical here, but I don’t order enough wine in restaurants in Germany and Austria to be sure.
Fair points, and thank you. To try and narrow it down a bit, we are unlikely to visit any wineries, (wife and kids won’t care), so really looking to understand if anyone has any favorites they’d recommend I look for when out shopping for a bottle.
I do like reds (loved a 2015 Johanneshof Reinisch Pinot Noir during a previous trip), but knowing the region is more famous for whites, would love recos from people during past trips, etc. for those.
Dryer wines without the residual sugar would be more interesting to us. Hope that helps to narrow it down.
Thanks for the clarification Brian. You might be able to work in a cruise on the Danube in wine country (since what kid doesn’t like a boat ride) and then have lunch or dinner in Krems where many of the wineries are located and where the wines are widely available.
PS - Austrian white wines are generally pretty dry.
One example:
Another thread here:
Agree that when buying Austrian you don’t have to worry about a wine not being dry, unless specifically sold as a dessert wine. From Austria, I would be very happy with any bottles from (alphabetically): Alzinger, Bründlmayer, Hirtzberger, Knoll, Ott, F.X. Pichler, Rudi Pichler, Prager, Schloss Gobelsburg.
Germany always has the sweetness question, but if a wine is labeled “trocken” it is dry as is any wine labeled GG or Grosses Gewächs which is the top dry wine from a grand cru (but those usually start at 30 Euros or more and go from there; not sure of your desired budget). As far as wineries board favorites for this style include Dönnhoff, Emrich-Schönleber, and Schäfer-Fröhlich.
Depending on where you will be in Germany or Austria, I may be able to recommend specific wine shops/restaurants. Just PM me or ask in the thread.
I know the answer I’m about to give is not the type of answer you’re looking for, but I hope you take it into consideration, nonetheless.
Talk-up servers/somms, or wine store employees/owners — tell them what you like, and be willing to follow their advice. You can control the price point, so there’s no concern there. This strategy will almost certainly lead you to some wineries, or wines, that you enjoy and otherwise wouldn’t have found or learned about. You can explore the options available to you in the U.S. when you’re in the U.S… You’ll perhaps find a decent selection of aged options, too, which might not be available in the states.
I wish I had some specific recommendations for you, as to wines/wineries more available over there than they are here, but I lack that knowledge. Sorry.
avail yourself of every opportunity in Austria to drink Blaufränkisch and Sankt Laurent – two distinctive red varieties
that typically yield memorable wines
the traditional field blend Wiener Gemischter Satz should not be missed if you are in Vienna
This is great advice. There are too many good-great producers to name here. Trying to do so would have you studying some long list here, trying to match names to a store shelf or wine list there, when there’s probably help right in front of you that would save you a lot of time and get equally good results. You might even make some discoveries that wouldn’t be mentioned here.
And like James said, try some Austrian reds. They’re not widely carried in the US because they’re challenging to sell. You’ll see them everywhere over there.
This and that! Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent can be enjoyable young and even more surprising with a little age on them. I had a 2012 Moric Blaufränkisch Reserve last year that was beautiful and could have kept aging nicely. Zweigelt is also not to be dismissed (albeit less complex than the other two most of the time) but I’ve had a hard time finding a good Austrian Pinot Noir though.
most Austrian Pinot Noir seems to be rather Californian in style
in contrast to their Blaufränkisch and Sankt Laurent, which get more solidly European with every vintage
Fritz Wieninger’s Pinot Noir from Vienna is very modern but also very good,
Michi Moosbrugger’s PN at Schloss Gobelsburg more traditional and frequently excellent
Johanneshof Reinisch in Tattendorf (Thermenregion) can be very fine
Germany is large, with many different regions and styles …
from half-sweet Mosel to dry Franken and red Baden …
For Austria you should ask Gerhard P. - the most knowledgeable wine geek for Austria (and France) … unfortunately not seen here for a longer time …
For Austrian wines, GV is the obvious one but I’ll second Moric for trying Blaufrankisch. In the fall of 2019 I spent 4 days in Prague, 4 days in Vienna and 4 days in Budapest. Budapest was kind of the sleeper but my wife and I agreed, definitely our favorite. If you want any pointers just send me a PM and I can see what I can recall. We did do a day trip from Vienna out to the Wachau and en route from Vienna to Budapest we did stop by Moric’s office for a tasting as well (as he doesn’t have a formal tasting room open to the public). The rest of our tastings came from dinners, wine bars, etc. During your short trip to Hungary do not forget to try some Tokaji (Furmint) especially a dry varietal.
I will also note that Austrian and German whites age beautifully and being in-country provides opportunities to drink older bottles. On my last trip to Wachau, I found wines from the 90s readily available and showing beautifully at well below US prices for current releases of the same bottlings. Don’t miss this!
Thank you all. Great advice and guidance. Much appreciated.
In my semi-limited experience in Germany, you are hard-pressed to find mit prädikat or any other semi-sweet wines in restaurants. So you don’t have to worry too much about the sweet factor.
In addition to the good suggestions above, if Vienna is on the itinerary try a Viennese heuriger. Wish I would years ago when I was there.
and to offer something basic,
Austrian wines are not like German wines;
both white and red have more in common with wines of the Loire
than they do with anything typically Teutonic
While I suppose I can bend my mind around the red wine comparison, I can’t really see this for whites. Could you explain?