Opening our second location in Raleigh

211 E. Franklin St.
Raleigh, NC 27604

With construction of our second location about to begin, we have hung a banner above that door to help folks find where we'll be settling in. It's next to the future home of Market Restaurant. Two doors down is Yellow Dog Bread Company, and around the side will be Person Street Neighborhood Bar. Next to us is the Raleigh City Farm, and we're two blocks from the old Krispy Kreme downtown.

To get familiar with our new Mordecai/Oakwood neighborhood we've been studying up on its history.  Check out this great story about the unusual pronunciation of Mordecai:

http://raleighpublicrecord.org/opinion/2012/11/19/mordecai-raleighs-founding-neighborhood-with-a-funny-name/

It's Mor-duh-key, not Mor-duh-kai!

Austria 2010, Second Stop: Michlits

One of the visitors asks Werner how many head of cattle he has. Werner says “350”. The visitor asks “Are they for beef or dairy?” Werner says “I use them for the manure.” He’s not joking.

An important part of the biodynamic philosophy is the “extreme” composting of manure, and keeping his entire farm biodynamic means he needs a lot of fertilizer. The farm is to be entirely self sustaining in this philosophy. It is a holistic farm with one crop helping the other to flourish without pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or chemical fertilizers.

     Fully biodynamic, with no additives in his wine which are spontaneously fermented, Werner Michlits has dozens of large agricultural hoop houses specifically for propagating predatory insects to use throughout his farm. He calls them “insect hotels”. Seeing them next to his vineyard, you realize his commitment to leading the biodynamic movement here. His resources committed to just these insects rivals most small farms and it's only a small piece of this farm. Young and passionate, with seemingly endless energy, excitement and curiosity, he pushes the limits of what can be produced naturally from his farm.

Many of the biodynamic producers I’ve visited do it strictly for the quality results they get in the end product. Studies have shown the soil on biodynamic farms has exponentially more microbic organisms, and its propon

ents show this as evidence that the process is less harmful for the environment, and therefore better for their crops. Werner is a complete believer in the entire philosophy and lives it with every ounce of his being. As he explained just the basics of the aging of manure in cow horns, creating a “tea” from it and very, very lightly spraying it in the vineyard (about a drop for every 30 square feet!) you could see a few of the visitors eyes rolling. But Werner could read his audience and knew when to cut it short before he got too in depth (plus our visit could not hold up the bus to our next producer). It didn’t prevent him from dropping tidbits of this information as we tasted the wines in his “egg room”.

His wines are lovely, full of fruit purity, elegant and balanced. Many of you already love his Pinot Noir Rosé Frizzante (one of our most popular wines in the store), his Zin-like Zweigelt, his lush Pinot Gris "Graupert" named after his unpruned vineyard, and his lovely Grüner Veltliner. He uses little to no oak, and has actually moved on to using “eggs”. These egg shaped vats are made of natural concrete with no reinforce-

ment from steel. “Steel is a cage” he says, and having these custom vats made very carefully without steel (if made improperly they will crack open!) shows how far he’s willing to push the envelope. The shape of the egg tank was adopted and updated by Werner for many of the same reasons that he follows biodynamics. Ask me in the store and I’ll give you a more in-depth version. It may sound like hocus-pocus, but the results are real... and the wines are fantastic. This year we’re going to offer 10 customers (plus Salamanzar & myself) the opportunity to “godfather” one of these egg shaped tanks. Each person will receive one magnum of the wine made in it for the next ten years for $300 and help this winery continue to progress. That ends up averaging $15 per 750ml for 10 magnums (1.5L). Interested? Ask us about it.

Coming soon: Juhfark, a Hungarian grape that Werner has planted in his vineyard just across the border in the Somlo region of Hungary (you reading this Century Club?). Tasty, and you'll love the pronunciation. Do I see another video coming?

I have to concur with Salamanzar's post from 2009 here, visiting this winery is inspirational enough to change your life.

- Grand Poobah Wine Swami

Austria 2010, First stop: Netzl

One thing I love about visiting small wineries is the fantastic hospitality.

A great example is Christine Netzl making a batch of her family recipe Hungarian

Goulash for us and a delicious mushroom soup for some of the vegetarians. Franz Netzl’s vineyards are between the Neusiedlersee Lake and Danube River, and these two nearby bodies of water influence the climate of his vineyards. This is red wine country in the Carnuntum region of Austria, and his vineyards are planted with Zweigelt, in the flat lands of his property, while on the hillsides are planted his Syrah (the most acclaimed Syrah of Austria), Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot. The family has farmed and lived on this property for 200 years. Franz changed direction of the family farm 25 years ago to focus on winemaking. They sold off much of their land devoted to crops and animals and used those proceeds to buy supplemental pristine vineyards and build a modern winery on the estate connected to their home.

Christina, his eldest daughter is now making the wine and she is clearly talented. She crafts the wines very professionally and is confident when she discusses what their different vineyards bring to the wines.

The whole family lives on the estate, Franz & Christine the parents in one part, young newlyweds Christina and her husband in another, and Christina’s younger sister Annemarie in another part. All are connected but have separate entrances. The wines here are well-made and modern (especially the reds), leaning more towards Californian in style. Their less expensive Carnuntina line is unoaked, friendly, accessible and great value (we’ve been selling their “Roseanna” Zweigelt Rosé whch is part of the Carnuntina line), while the upper level wines are rich, noticeably oaked and showy with intense flavor and little semblance to our image of classic, typical European wines. For more about this estate, visit Salamanzar's great post from 2009 here.

- Grand Poobah Wine Swami

Austria & Germany: My Goals

Leaving for Austria and Germany today, I've been considering my goals for this trip. Certainly I'm looking forward to visiting the vineyards, wineries and homes of some winegrower friends who I've known for years but never had the chance to spend time with on their home turf. That will be great! But, I'm also an avid sponge of world cultures and hope to gain a strong appreciation of regional distinctions and quirks. I'm sure I'll eat too much!

The wine will be abundant, that's for sure. Traveling with friends will be neat. Charlie Deal (chef/owner of Jujube, Dos Perros), Bill Bowman (former co-worker from my Fowler's days and now an importer/distributor) and Ryan Fulkerson (a friendly sales rep and overall good guy) will make this a fun and dynamic trip. These guys are pros, but they also know how to cut loose and have a good time. Plus they're all fun & funny. I'm looking forward to the laughs.

It's also a great opportunity to document a little slice of my life that I can share with family, friends and the community that has developed in and around our store. Looking past this trip, it will be neat to look back and laugh and remember.

Yum! Shellfish display from a previous trip to Barcelona.

Of course the primary goal is to find new wines and taste new vintages of wines I already know. Wine education is an important part of my life, so getting my fingers in the dirt and being exposed to the "terroir" will greatly help my understanding of why these wines are what they are.

I also want to give our customers following this trip online a taste of the adventure. One of Wine Authorities objectives for 2010 is to expose our customers to the potential adventure that can be found in the world of wine on the shelf just down the street from their house. Much goes into that tasty liquid living in a bottle that you bring home tonight. What you uncork and pour into your glass can either be a beverage that packs a little buzz, or it can be the latest chapter in a family's long history that speaks of their deep cultural roots and tells tales of that year's weather and the craft of the artisan who made it. Is it something you drink for comfort, or something you've never had before that opens a door to the unknown when you pull the cork? The Century Club has several of our customers considering that adventure, and I'll surely let you know the many obscure grapes that I hope to check off of my list.

Check back, I'll do my best to keep this interesting and entertaining!

-Grand Poobah Wine Swami

Tasting Notes

Customer Paul has asked about our note taking and how one might fashion notes of their own when tasting wine. Paul said, this would make an excellent blog entry. Well, here are our notebooks we use everyday and a few ideas on how to take notes of your own. Remember your notes are personal just like tasting wine.

In formal wine tasting training the CAT system is used. But as they say, there are many ways to skin a cat. CAT stands for Color - Aroma - Taste (& Finish.) The Color of a wine reveals much about its age, how the wine was aged as in tank vs. barrel, filtration, and possible clues as to the grape type. All wines brown as they age and oak can also add an amber quality at times. At the very least we know if were drinking a white (actually yellow), rosé, or red wine. By the way, most tasters cannot blindly taste red and white wine, served in a dark glass, at the same temperature, and accurately tell what color it is. Your notes need to be in your own voice so they are a useful reference. If brassy yellow brings a color to mind, use that. If brick red is familiar use it when you see this color. If Linda Blair pea soup green is appropriate, well don't drink that wine.

The Aroma is what you smell in a wine. The best way to get the aroma is to swirl a glass with an ounce or two of wine. This will release the aroma and by raising the glass to your nose, you can smell the subtleties of the wine. This can be as technical or simple as you desire. We try to be specific with aromas. Citrus is good, but lemon and lime is better. Herbal is good, but rosemary and lavender is better. We also encourage people in our classes to use familiar smells. If a wine reminds you of spending your summers with grandma and the smell of laundry drying on the clothesline in the summer sun, use that. If it smells like plastic Tupperware just out of the dishwasher, use it.

Finally, there is the Taste and finish. The taste is actually three parts. First, the tongue senses sweetness (sugar) or dryness (no sugar) or somewhere in between. This perception is relative to the taster. Let's just say that most American diets are filled with foods that have some sweetness so we tend to think wines with a bit of residual sugar are still "dry" vs. many European palates. The tongue (and cheeks) also sense acidity. This is what makes your cheeks salivate. We love acid! Acid in wine is like salt in food. It can bring out flavors and make the wine come alive. Tannin is a type of acid usually only found in a red wine and this can be felt on the roof of our mouth. It's furry and rough like a cat's tongue. You also recognize tannin from making tea. If you steep your tea bag too long, you can extract those furry tannins. That's about all that the tongue actually tastes when it comes to wine. The second part of tasting comes from swirling the wine in your mouth. While you swish it around, like mouthwash, you release aroma just like in the glass. These aromatics rise into your olfactory senses and that's when you "taste" the fruit, the earth, the herbs, the citrus, the licorice, the oak, etc. You don't actually taste these things, but you do smell them when the wine is in your mouth. The final part of tasting is after you swallow the wine (we spit our wines so that we are able to keep from getting too happy at work). The finish is a measure of how long you still perceive the flavor of the wine post sip. The finish is the #1 indicator of a wine's quality. The finish should be appropriate to the grape or type of wine, but if it is short or harsh you may be onto something less than appropriate for that type of wine.

One last tip is to taste wines at the same time of day if you can. Most professionals try to taste in the morning after breakfast when you senses are awake and you are not tired, nor full of food from the day. This will keep your notes more consistent.

And the best way to get good at tasting wine is to practice, practice, practice.

In the photos you see Craig's style of note keeping at the top. His notes are condensed, tight and uses his own abbreviation system. This is an evolution of tasting wines over many years and thousands of bottles. My style is in the second picture. I have a big ol' fat notebook with spread out notes. Since we also need some information for the point of sale system at the store, I keep track of things like alcohol percentages, UPC codes, importers, etc. At home, I wouldn't normally take down all these things, but it's appropriate for our current needs. - Salamanzar

Wine Hero

It's not everyday you get to say you met one of your heros, but I did last week at the store.

I have spoken with Mr. Patrick Campbell on the phone. I have spent a day selling his wines with his daughter, Arya, in the Triangle. I have tasted his wines many times and felt like I really knew him, but I never actually shook his hand until last Tuesday.

Patrick Campbell is the owner and founder of Laurel Glen winery on Sonoma Mountain. Sure the wines are excellent. I won't even get into that part. Let's just say the wine part is a given. Patrick has played a major role in our wine culture today and most people don't even know his name. Ever so humble and kind, Patrick comes across as quiet and mild mannered. He established the Sonoma Mountain AVA (American Viticultural Area, the US wine appellation system); he fought the government when they proposed a more lengthy and perhaps even more unreasonable sounding alcohol warning on wine bottles. He is greatly responsible for getting it whittled down to the current warning you see today. In fact on his Counterpoint Cabernet bottling he has a statement regarding sulfites being naturally occurring in wine and a part of food for millennia. He is the only person with this statement on a wine bottle and the ATF is just itching to make him take it off. Patrick explained that he has never updated the Counterpoint label because if he makes the slightest change, it will have to go through re-approval and "they" will ban his sulfite statement. Way to give 'em hell Patrick.

Patrick describes his winemaking start this way, "I was born in Baltimore in 1947, grew up on the fringes of the southern California wine industry, and studied English Literature at Pomona College and Philosophy of Religion at Harvard University. I have a degree in neither viticulture nor enology. In short, I have the proper credentials for winemaking." Patrick farms his estate organically and started on top of Sonoma Mountain in 1977. He told me the grapes planted there were so incredibly inappropriate, Palomino in fact, but at that time matching vineyards and climate to the proper grape vine wasn't really discussed. He was the first American winemaker to go to Argentina to work with farmers and to bring the wine back home to the US for bottling. Bringing the wine back in bulk tanks as ballast for the ship below the water line ensures a proper temperature half way around the world and makes environmental sense due to the lack of shipping glass and boxes. To this day, he still stands for reasonably priced wine and thinks everyone should be able to drink well in the $10 range.

Patrick was also stricken by Polio as a child and walks with assistance. About three minutes after meeting him, you quickly forget, as he can be so engaging and his list of accomplishments include professional ocean kayak racing, concert Violist with several San Francisco Bay area symphonies, and winemaker making it seem like he has done much more than most people without the crutches. He has been a leader in the world of wine on so many issues that he received the first ever, Wine Industry Integrity Award. Today he is wrestling the legal system as an advocate for making wine shipping legal to all states.

I just love his wines and I'm never going to wash my hand again. - Salamanzar

For further reading check out the Press Democrat Article, and his website Laurel Glen Winery.

BLT Awesomeness

Wine Authorities sells a selection of artisanal bacons, which we store in a chest freezer called "Pork Knox" (thanks to Randy for the name). One such bacon is the North Country Smokehouse's Peppered Bacon. Hmm, such a bacon must be an ideal B.L.T. candidate, no?

We had all the makings this weekend at home - fresh tomatoes from the garden, fresh arugula from the garden (a twist on the lettuce), sourdough whole wheat bread and the bacon was thawed.

One culinary tip to share. If you want nice flat strips of bacon, bake it in the oven between two sheet pans to keep the bacon flat and even. I baked this batch at 375º F for 17 minutes. I like it a little meatier, so go a full 20 minutes if you like it crisp. A picture is worth at least 1,000 BLT dreams.

Salamanzar Guest Chili Judge

I was asked to guest judge the May 30th 2009 Bull City Chili Challenge at the Durham Farmer's Market this year. It was a great time and the chilies were excellent. Here's a video telling a little bit of the story. - Salamanzar

Salamanzar Guest Judges @ Bull City Chili Challenge from Wine Authorities on Vimeo.

3 minutes & 52 seconds that will change your life

Here is what we do in our free time to promote our love for Dry Rosé wine and the practice of Roséism.

Can you guess what this is?

photo: Justin Mott, NY Times
Is this picture,

A. An Exxon Oil Refinery?

B. A Dow Chemical Plant?

C. The Yellow Tail wine facility in Yenda, New South Wales?

Fired up About Fred

I recently finished the May 18, 2009 issue of the The New Yorker Magazine which features an article titled "Drink Up" by Dana Goodyear on Fred Franzia, the man behind Bronco Wines (Two Buck Chuck, Crane Lake, etc. [see below]) Wow am I fired up. You need to read this article if you are interested in the business of wine. The article abstract is here. If you register with New Yorker, you can read it all. I don't know Fred personally, but Dana certainly paints a less than flattering image of the man. Fred is a business man and makes no apology for taking advantage of others' difficult times. His coarse language and approach to the business of wine is a reality. If you drink his wines you may be shocked at who you are supporting. In June Wine News, Fred just announced he is releasing a new wine, "Down Under by Crane Lake" starting in July. The wine will retail in the $3 range per bottle and he is bringing this Australian wine to the US to show that Americans have overpaid for Aussie wines for too long. That article can be found here.

Bronco Wine Company Brands
Albertoni Vineyards
Alexander and Fitch
Almond Creek
Bad Dog Ranch
Bears' Lair
Black Mountain
CC Vineyards
Cedar Brook
Charles Shaw, AKA Two Buck Chuck
Chateau California
Coastal Ridge
Coastal Vines
Congress Springs
Crane Lake
Down Under by Crane Lake
Domaine Laurier
Domaine Napa
Dona Sol
Douglass Hill
Down Under
Estrella
Fat Cat
Forest Glen
Forest Hill
ForestVille
Foxbrook
FoxHollow
Grand Cru
Grove Ridge
Hacienda
Harlow Ridge
JW Morris
JFJ Winery
Laurier
Montpellier
Napa Creek
Napa Crossing
Napa Landing
Napa Ridge
Napa River
Oak Vineyards
Pacific Oasis
Quail Creek
Quail Ridge
Raymond Hill
Redwood
Rock Brook
Rutherford Vintners
Salmon Creek
Santa Barbara Crossing
Santa Barbara Landing
Sea Ridge
Silver Ridge
The California Winery
Thousand Oaks
Three Knights Vineyards
Trellis

-Salamanzar

Rosé Garden Erection Video

Each year we show our allegiance and love of dry rosé wine by building a rosé garden.  The garden usually blooms just before Memorial Day and comes down around Labor Day.  Our garden features pink wines from around the world coming and going all summer long.  Unfortunately, in the US many people still associate pink wines with sugary sweet flavors.  We are passionate for the drier versions - the best of a white wine with some of the qualities of a red wine.  Pink wines are food friendly, easy to drink in social situations, they don't weigh you down, and offer lots of bright acidity so you taste every sip.  Chill them like a white wine, but not quite as cold for serving.  A little warmer than fridge temperature lets all the grape's goodness come forth.  We like to think of ourselves as ordained clergymen in the church of rosé and preachers of "roséism," the practice of drinking dry pink wine.  More on our religious teachings to come.  (Wink, wink foreshadowing)  Without further ado, here is our video showing this year's Rosé Garden erection, err, construction! - Salamanzar

Wine Authorities Dry Rosé Wine Garden from Wine Authorities on Vimeo.

Confessions from a Wine Pro

Last night after we poured wine for the cast party/post A Prarie Home Companion live from DPAC event, I was beat from a long day of wine. The first thing I did was pour some left over Ceci, Lambrusco from Saturday's free tasting and sit down for a glass.  Now here's the reality.  In a humbling manner, I look back at my youth and think of all the terrible mistakes I made of putting wine on a pedestal.  I scorned if someone didn't use the proper glass, even for a $5.99 Chardonnay.  Or if the wine's drinking temperature was incorrect, mercy me, how could they?  Prices, big prices in fact, impressed me and I would never see why someone could enjoy an $8 Cabernet Sauvignon.  

Last night I drank my Lambrusco, of all wines, in a ball jar with three ice-cubes to give it a chill. And you know what?  It was the best glass of wine I tasted all week.  I've come full circle and encourage  you to do so the same.  Let's just drink wine and enjoy it without all the fuss, the snobery and pomp & circumstance.  I enjoy wine more now than ever. 

At the event I found out that Garrison Keillor doesn't drink alcohol, he has soft hands and a rather flabby handshake. - Salamanzar

Steininger Non Frozen Disgorge Video

In Thursday night's Austrian wine seminar, we debuted this video in its world premiere opening.  Now we have it for you to view in the safety of your own home.  This video was taken during Seth's Austrian trip in January 2009.  It shows the Steininger family disgorging their Sekt.  Disgorging is the method of opening the bottle to shoot out the plug of dead yeast before corking the wine.  Sekt is the German word for their Champagne style wine.  There's also a little humor on the side. 

Steininger Non-Frozen Disgorge from Wine Authorities on Vimeo.

Mon Sherry

I've been drinking Amontillado Sherry lately.  The bottle of Hidalgo, Napoleon Amontillado had been sitting unopened in my basement office for a long time now.  After a well overdue office cleaning, I decided this bottle needed to be opened.  Two sips in, I realized I had kept this lady in waiting for too long.  I have badly been missing such a satisfying after dinner drink.

With a small glass, while working late at night, this bottle has become my work associate.  Dry, rich, satisfying, and not overly heavy, Sherry is art in a glass.  This is not the sweet "cream" sherry grandma drank.  

I am almost as guilty as the next person for not helping to preserve this treasured wine from Spain.  Sherry is one of the three main fortified wines (+ Port & Madeira).  She is losing ground daily in the fight for survival.  It is possible Sherry might disappear from our planet due to lack of demand.  I pledge to do my part and drink more sherry hoping to help in some small way preserve history, a style of wine and a special flavor.  

Take a sherry pledge of your own. - Salamanzar

Austria Pat VI - the end

We are winding down the trip with just one full day before flying out of Vienna in the morning. Klaus is clearly not going to let up on us as the day starts with a full walking tour of the Loisium for those can get up and make it, followed by a tasting in the hotel with a brand new rising star, Paul D., and then a bus ride to Vienna to meet the Austrian Wine Board, and finally meet and taste with the Strauss family. All this of course before we go to dinner.

A small group of maybe six, actually makes it to the entrance of the Loisium museum in time to take the tour. The idea is that we are all grapes and were just harvested, now we will go through the process of fermentation. This was very “Disney” like with real looking electrical panels, consoles, a water show, video screens etc. After we find our way to the tanks and barrels, the tour then becomes a visit to the history of Austrian wine with re-created wineries, and a typical village house. Everything is so real it’s like stepping back in time. This museum is definitely worth visiting. Seeing the old tools, the techniques and such is fascinating. The tour is about 75 minutes.

At the hotel we all assemble to meet and taste the wines of Paul D. Paul is not old enough to legally drink wine in the US. We are truly seeing a rising star. He finished agriculture school and under the tutelage of Anton Bauer, Paul is making wine on the family farm. We are presented one liter bottles of Zweigelt and Gruner Veltliner with crown caps (beer caps). The wines are excellent and I personally love the crown cap because it is actually better than even a screw cap, but clearly I am in the minority as Paul apologizes for the crown caps and our wines will come with screw tops. (I did ask Klaus if he could send all the Wine Authorities bottles with the crown cap and got that look of “this guy is crazy, who invited him.”) Paul is actually presenting the wines with his mom. It’s sort of a funny thing because it reminds me of “bring your parent to work day.” They are both very kind to pose with their bottles so we will have their pictures up next to the one liters when they arrive. Winemakers like Paul are very much a part of the Wine Authorities philosophy. I expect nothing but better and better wines from Paul as we get to know each other and help to introduce a young winemaker with a bright future to the United States. Now Paul, keep your prices reasonable and don’t let the fame go to your head!

The bus ride to Vienna is a chance to grab some sleep for most of the bus. Staring out the window, I see frozen parts of the Danau river. Amazing to see huge ice chunks floating; a reminder of how cold it remains. In the city we get about 30 minutes to walk to our next stop and take some photos, see some history. Fortunately 30 minutes is plenty of time in a city like Vienna with very little history. For example, Klaus points out a building that was a prison and tells the story of the architect committing suicide after it was built because they forgot to add bathrooms. Not sure if it’s true, but a good story.  We have time for a quick coffee and I insist on have authentic Sacher Torte in Vienna.  Klaus recommends ordering it 'mit schlag' or with a pile of whipped cream; a very nice pick me up.

We arrive at a wine bar and head to the basement where the Austria Winemarketing Board, presents “Wine from Austria, A taste of Culture.” We are treated to a powerpoint presentation/sales pitch of Austria’s growth in the wine market, and maybe a last kicker just in case we weren’t sure if we would sell Austrian wine back home. Currently Austria is working on promoting their individual wine regions, working to set wine laws specific to each region, using peer panels to taste wines for approval, and finally trying to build regional varietal identity. They make the comparison that Marlborough, New Zealand is now synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc and they want folks to think of Gruner Veltliner when you mention Kamptal, Austria. They are well on their way, at least in our store.

Gustav Strauss waits patiently and as the AWB finishes their presentation we are ready for his wines from Steiermark (Styria) located southeast in Austria. Positioned in the foothills of the Alps, they see cold nights and very hot days. Many of our customers are probably familiar with Strauss’ Sämling 88, aka Scheurebe, grape. We have sold a lot of this wine. There are only 20 vintners in Gustav’s area and the steep hillsides equates with all hands-on manual labor. Gustav tells us the people in his town have one leg shorter than the other to help them stand on the hills. I tried to watch his gate to see an obvious limp, but didn’t see it. Maybe he has a lift in one shoe. This region is making a name for its Sauvignon Blanc and Muskateller varietals. All of his wines are excellent and I am very excited about the 2008s coming to the store.

Klaus then takes the group on a walk and “illegal” train trolley ride getting lost in Vienna to find our dinner restaurant. It’s our last meal together and the troops definitely look worn. The smiles at the table are many, but the conversation is a bit more quiet than usual. I don’t think we have the energy to muster much talk and those awful thoughts of getting back to work are creeping into our reality.

Thank you Klaus and company for a most memorable and perfect trip to Austria. As it was my first time there, I have nothing to compare it to, but I can’t imagine a more passionate, quality driven, fun and educational trip than this one. Before boarding the plane, I made sure Klaus promised to take Craig next January. Craig, be sure your passport is ready to go, and bring your long underwear.

Klaus will be at Wine Authorities on Thursday, April 30th for a special Austrian Wine seminar. Details on our website calendar.

Austria Part V

What if a couple of winemakers were up drinking late one night and concocted an idea to create an underground museum to celebrate the making of wine, where tourists would walk through the museum from the perspective of being a grape?

And what if the same two fellows roped architect Steven Holl from New York into designing a hotel for the museum, which he repeatedly refused to design, but after a bunch of wine Steven had sketched the hotel on a cocktail napkin before dawn? Meet the Loisium (loy-zee-um). It’s an interactive tour of wine, a museum of Austrian wine making history and a deluxe ultra modern hotel/spa. I got to stay there for two nights!

Located in Langenlois, Austria, the museum was built first. The problem was that: A) it was underground; invisible to tourists and B) there was no place to stay. So the vision to build a hotel and include the Aveda wine spa came to life. The museum’s welcome center and gift area has no regular windows and not a single 90 degree, true angle. The hotel won a major architectural award for its design. All I can say is you have to see it to believe it.  Mostly concrete with heated floors, the hidden bathroom, and the room service just for your bed comfort are fantastic. You can order a special pillow, a different mattress, various comforters, you name it, they accommodate. The breakfast was outstanding and I found one of my favorite food signs ever on the buffet. 

With Mr. Karl Steininger of Steininger wines as our host, we got to know the late night/early morning crowd at the Loisium both evenings. His long drinking session reputation preceded him and we were warned. The second evening I went to sleep in the low digit morning hours, but several of the group never went to sleep and continued on with Karl tasting each and every barrel of wine in the cellars. Once you have tried your 11th tank of 2008 Gruner Veltliner, it’s a little difficult to taste 

how it is different from the first 10 tanks. These guys weren’t even close to hungover yet. That would come around 3 PM that afternoon once the alcohol wore off.  In time we came to be very fond of the entire Steininger family. There were the daughters Ana, focusing on the red wine production, Eva who focuses on white wines, and Leeza who was the youngest daughter and still learning everything. We met Brigetta, the matriarch and the always jovial Karl. The Steininger estate not only makes great reds and whites, but also focuses on Sekt sparkling wine production in the Champagne method. We were treated to watching the disgorgement process and each of us allowed to finish a bottle of Sekt on the bottling line so that we could take home our very own personal bot

tle. [I hope to finish a video for you in the next month showing the process.] This was followed by a seven course dinner prepared by Brigetta and Leeza with seven different Sekts for each plate. One of my culianary/wine lifetime highlights will forever be the 2006 Sekt Cabernet Rosé paired with smoked trout and horseradish cream.

The family produces their Sekt only in the best of vintages and ages the bubbles for an extended period in the barrel or tank, then on the lees for just 1 year in the bottle. Karl explains that his preference is to “taste the wine in the sparkling wine” and not the yeasty quality. They produce a vintage “Grand Cru” only in magnum and hand sign each bottle. The base wine is aged for four years in 2,000 Liter wood barrels made from local forest wood. At the Loisium bar we must have downed 4 or 5 magnums our first night. I knew it was good, but didn’t realize...

In between our time at the Loisium and the Steiningers, we snuck away to the Wachau region to walk the terraces with Martin Mittelbach of Tegernseerhof estate. It’s wicked cold as we depart the bus and Martin marches us up the hillside into the vines. Seeing the hills, the

 terraces and all the surroundings, we now feel like we have seen both spectrums of Austrian vineyards. From flat to mountainous, this area has traditional stone walls surrounding special vineyards similar to Burgundy, France. Each “clos” carries significant meaning and often a price. This is some of the top Austrian wine in the world all around us. When we drive to the Mittelbach house, we cross the Danube river which has frozen in places. Martin says this hasn’t happened since 1986. We meet the father, Frankl, who now watches over the family operations, along with his mother Dita and sister Eva in a house that was former monastery. Back in 1970 Frankl produced straight forward wines, but today Martin has taken the winery to new heights using spontaneous fermentations, bigger extracts, later harvests and innovative winemaking. The house is set up for us with tasting stations in each room. We are welcomed by tasting single grand cru vineyard wines from various vintages at each stop. As we go around the rooms, Martin tells us about the rainfall that year, how the harvest went, what happened during the fermentation and how he feels the vintage is aging. Tasting white wines from 2001, 2003, etc we are seeing that these austere, minerally whites are just babies, but aging wonderfully.
We sit down for a formal tasting of new vintage wines and eat some of the best bread I have ever had. I can’t stop eating the basket of rolls. Klaus Wittauer is obsessed with a video promoting Austria and he literally comes to tears as we watch it for the fifth or sixth time. I admire his passion for the homeland and the video is great to watch (see below). After a dozen or more wines, it’s time for lunch. In a beautiful setting complete with candles and fine dining catering, under a giant antique wine press, we dine and drink the great Tegernseerhof wines. Martin is young and ambitious. He has brought on an assitant, Annika, to help make wine so he can pursue his ideas in the vineyards. As much as I enjoyed the wines, I am left wondering if customers are ready to pay for a single vineyard “Steinertal” Riesling 2002 from Austria. Baby steps, baby steps. For now we’ll stick to the T26 Gruner Veltliner and his rosé, both coming this spring. - Salamanzar

Austria Part IV

We have an early start at Hillinger with a strudel brunch and obligatory wine. The day starts right off the bus and into the vineyards where it is unholy cold again. There are ice crystals forming on the vines which look like water was misting at some point last night. One of Leo’s vineyards is pure chalk and one is pure shale. Walking the earth we see bits of both under foot. Inside we warm up with a little of Leo’s sparkling Secco which is a dry Pinot Noir Sekt (sparkling wine). The color is a dreamy pink and this is one we have sold back home in Durham very well. The good news? The price is going down and we will now be able to sell this for $15.99 per bottle. A steal when it arrives in March.

Leo regales us with the story of his beginnings and how he eventually built the winery into the hillside. His logo is all caps with the “L” letters backwards in his surname. Apparently this caused quite a stir among his peers at the time. For Leo it’s all about his hills and the play on the name. He makes red wines with the names Small Hill 1, Small Hill 2, and Small Hill 3. When asked why those names he simply replies, “well, I grow the grapes each on their own small hill and I couldn’t come up with a better name than Hill 1, 2 and 3.” Sometimes things are too obvious. I consider a second bowl of goulash, but no one like a goulash glutton.

We have a leisurely morning and then we are off to Wagram to meet Mr. Anton “Tony” Bauer, man of mystery. The winery is a short walk from the main road and we come to a rather subtle cellar as compared to the high fashion wineries we visited so far. The cellar walls have a thick black mold like shag carpet. Visitors have pressed euro coins into the walls for “good luck.” But if you ask me, Tony is saving the Euros to build a new 

winery.  Turns out I was half correct, later at the tasting room, Klaus and Tony roll out architectural drawings for the all new Anton Bauer estate. Needless to say it is grand! We spend some time in the cellars talking and tasting barrel samples of his 2008 vintage wines still working away. It’s dark, shadowy, cold and damp. A

 perfect cellar. Primed and ready, we have a short trip to the Bauer tasting room complete with food of course. We start with a sparkling and work through seventeen wines this afternoon, and that’s after the barrel samples. It’s tough work.  The wines are outstanding and Tony’s work is quickly rising to the top of 

the trip thus far. His wines maintain traditional flavors at times and in others I taste the future. I am completely blindsided by a sample of 2007 Grüner Veltliner, Grande Reserve simply because he has used oak barrel aging! But Tony, you can’t do that! Gruner Veltliner doesn’t come from oak barrels. Are you nuts? That’s like making oaky riesling, or grilling an egg or peanut butter on chopped liver. You just don’t do that. Tony explains that he wants to have a white wine that is “age-able for up to twenty years for his children” and this is how he thinks it should be done. Perhaps it was the twelve wines before it or even the “vineyard effect” of loving every wine because you are standing there,

 but the Grand Reserve was a show stopper. I sat at the table quietly mulling it over and trying to come to terms with a wood aged Gruner Veltliner. If I can like this, I guess I can come to terms with my daughter dating one day. (One day many, many years from now.) We are told the 2007 Grande Reserve was picked as one of the Top Ten wines in all of Austria last year. Tony continues on with the tasting leading us to odd grapes like Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet from Austria! At this point I have to remain open minded and as we taste vintages of his Wagram Cuvée 12 (Zweigelt/Blaufrankish/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend) as it’s the twelfth vintage of course, and the Wagram Reserve (Cab/Syrah/Merlot/Zweigelt blend) I find myself with the same stunned feeling. I am quiet and smiling inside. If anyone asks, I’ll say my glow is the alcohol’s affect. The real test of these wines is yet to come as Tony is taking all of us to Toni Mörwold’s restaurant for dinner. Chef Toni is the “Emeril Lagasse” of Austria, complete with his own TV show and fine dining restaurant. His is a real celebrity and this Sunday night dinner is a special treat just for this group.

As we arrive, we are treated to an Amuse Bouche of baby greens with Foie Gras. And it’s a good thing because my Foie intake on this trip was getting low. Tony Bauer arrives with his beautiful golden retriever named Sammy after his favorite actor Samuel L. Jackson. Sammy even joins us on the floor during dinner. The first course is a foamy Gruner Veltliner cream soup with a cracker thin slice of fried bread floating in the middle. As I finish my bowl I quickly scanned the table to see if anyone was not finishing theirs. No luck. I seriously tried to order 10 gallons to take back to the US, but I am told it won’t make it through customs. This is absolutely one of the best soups I have ever tried and as much as I love soup, rarely do I rave about the dish. The 2004, 2005 and 2006 vintages of the Gruner Veltliner Grande Reserve are served beside the soup. Yes, they are still oaky, and yes the wines are a perfect match for this dish. I am in awe. Not only are they great, but the 2004 (the oldest vintage) is the perfect wine at this moment. I still can’t believe it. [I have ordered some Grande Reserve to arrive in March. I think Craig thought I was crazy for ordering an expensive, oak-aged Gruner. We’ll see what he says when he tastes it this spring. I could be in big trouble. Please be sure to try this one out, there will be very little available.] We are told the meal is halting for a special break and asked to leave the room. As we file into the adjoining banquet room, we see it is a makeshift movie theater. Tony Bauer debuts his newest short film called “Private Selection.” Tony made the film just for fun and to show off his rarest of all wines. You can watch the movie here.

The film was a blast and we return to the dining room where they are treating us to magnums of the legendary Private Selection at the table. I didn’t actually think we would get to taste it. The entrée arrives and we dig into Venison ragout with bread dumpling and lingonberry sauce. 

It’s like an Austrian Thanksgiving. The Wagram Reserve is served in multi vintage as well and all of them were drinking beautifully. I am a newcomer to Tony Bauer’s wines but now I have seen the future and this guy is going to help put Austrian wine on the tips of wine drinker’s tongues around the world one day. (photo above shows Tony Bauer, Toni Morwold and Klaus Wittauer after dinner)

Next stop, the Loisium hotel. - Salamanzar

(thanks to Doug D. and Karen M. for letting me use a photo or two)

Austria Part III

Arriving at the Steindorfer winery in Burgenland we share a brief stop and tasting.  Modest in scope and size, but clearly of the highest quality, Steindorfer is run by Ernst Steindorfer, a master of dessert style wines. Because of his close proximity to lake Neusiedl and its moisture, the vineyards are easily susceptible to noble rot or botrytis.  This is a mold which covers the grapes and sucks out the moisture leaving sugars behind. If you saw the grapes on the vine you would say, “yuck, those are rotten,” but the wine made from such grapes can be one of the most powerful and often costly wines produced.  His best friend and winemaking companion was non other than Alois Kracher, who sadly passed away last year at the young age of 48.  The Kracher dessert wines are legendary and far beyond my drinking budget.  It turns out that some of those legendary wines were actually made here at Steindorfer and aged in these pristine cellars.  Ernst continues on with the dessert wine honor.  You could eat off the floors and if you spilled a drop of his dessert wine, you just might consider licking it up.

Klaus handles the translation from Ernst as we take a quick look around the winery, aging cellar, the tanks and see a stainless steel tank fitted with a stirring mechanism to keep the lees (sediment in a wine and yeast cells) moving during the aging process.  Stirring the lees adds richness to the finished bottle and a distinct character.  The group is ready for more wine and we start with his dry whites. The Chardonnay we sample is a proud moment for Ernst as he claims it is being compared to the finest of white Burgundy.  All his dry wines, white and red, are excellent, but we are anticipating the sweet stuff and finally the traditional tall, thin 375 ml bottles emerge.  We work through them with ooohs and aaaahs.  It’s tough to spit these, so I force myself to swallow the tastes justifying that I have worked hard today and could use a little reward this time.  The excitement in the group grows with each opened bottle, then the talk of Steindorfer’s “best wine he ever made” starts up.   Klaus is egging him on and we join in. Finally Ernst either felt generous, or the wine was kicking in, but he goes to the cellar and emerges with his 1991 Trockenbeeren Auslese (TBA), the claimed "best ever."  The color is a deep amber and pours from the bottles like a watery version of maple syrup. I am practically intoxicated just by smelling the aroma. I take a picture through the glass with the label behind the bottle. A fine finish to our visit at Steindorfer.

The day is not over, oh no, the night is just beginning when we arrive at Leo Hillinger’s winery for an introduction, tour and dinner. This is just the start. The real tastings will take place tomorrow.  We arrive at an ultra fancy shmancy modern looking winery established by Leo Hillinger, former super-model and now wine maker/wine fashion superstar.  If anyone knows how to build a brand, it’s Leo.  With things like the Hillinger name everywhere from the entrance to the floor of the winery, to the continually running video loop of Leo projected on the wall, to the slick black hats, several hundred dollar Hillinger jackets, you name it, Leo is creating it with his name on it. Leo is opening Hillinger wine shops in Europe and wants to have one in NY as well. Several women in the group nearly faint when they first see Leo in real life. Sure has more hair than me, it’s blonde and he is tall, square jawed, thin and owns a top winery, but really does he deserve all the gawking?  It must be tough for him.  By the way he is married with two beautiful children.

We visit an underground cellar with rows of shiny stainless steel tanks, then retreat to the barrel room for even more rows of oak barrels. The barrel tasting is a blast and we get to spit the wine on the floor!  Always a treat and I feel like a little kid breaking the rules.  The floor will later be washed down by the oompa loompas or some sort of mystery crew that must come out late at night to shine the joint.  The tasting room has a glass wall looking out over the vineyards behind the hill.

Leo tells us his story of risking it all with a bank loan and starting out on his own. I admire the man. He had a vision, would not compromise on quality and took a big gamble. He still hints at the tenuous nature of all that he does and of being at the mercy of mother nature every harvest. We can tease him about the glamour aspect of his winery and its presentation, but clearly the wine is quality while he can smile all the way to the bank.  Leo is focused on building the Hillinger brand.  

We move back upstairs to the tasting room for a catered three course dinner.  The entrée has a side of applesauce with shredded horseradish.  I can't get enough of the stuff.  By thirds, or was it fourths?, I was really feeling my sinuses cleared out and the "wasabi snorts" kicking in.  Good stuff, sweet and spicy.  The actual meal takes about 45 minutes, then the consumption began.  I think we left around midnight or 1 AM.  Not sure, but by the end we had empty magnums of wine lining the table.  Half the group goes out to the Safari club.  Don't ask, but if you are ever in town and want to meet the locals, ask about the Safari. We'll be back tomorrow to learn more. 

- Salamanzar