The Latest / Austria

It may seem ironic but we think of the Wagram as the most quintessentially Austrian wine region. Ironic, since it’s the newest DAC (“Districtus Austriae Controllatus,” Austria’s equivalent of the old French DOC) and far from Austria’s most famous region.

But it’s hard to think of a region that is more uniquely Austrian. 

What is the greatest Wine City in the world? Vienna gets my vote. That’s probably not what you’d expect. Vienna’s certainly not the best city in the world for finding the broadest selection of the world’s wines (that has to be New York)

Austria is not just a tiny place with time honored traditions and amazing terroir. It is a model for the future of wine. Their remarkable renaissance, taking them from bulk wine blenders to quality wine wunderkinds, was just the beginning. For a glimpse of the future of wine, look no further than Austria!

Few things are as exciting as realizing you are experiencing an undiscovered phenomenon. Like your cousin who was playing Nirvana tapes before they hit the radio, or the line cook flipping burgers next to Danny Meyer. You vibrate with the energy of the thing, you can’t wait for it to infect everyone else. You start passing out cassette tapes and inviting your friends out to dinner.

Today, that’s me and Burgenland.

With such diversity it can be hard to summarize the region’s wine style. But to us, the heart of the matter is that Lower Austria gives us authentic wines. And best of all, they do this at incredibly fair prices.

The Wachau Valley is the epicenter of Austria’s greatest wines. In fact, to many wine consumers, the wines of the Wachau are the wines of Austria. 

While that sentiment sells Austria short, ignoring many diverse and excellent wine regions, it’s not baseless. The Wachau’s vineyards, defined 1,000 years ago by local monks, are still recognized today for producing some of the world’s greatest white wines.

It’s an exciting time to discover the wines of Austria. The dynamic styles produced by the technically proficient graduates of the Klosterneuburg juxtapose the experimental natural winemakers breaking the mold in every region.

If you're new to Riesling and don't know what all the fuss is about, look no further: Josh wrote a nifty blog to get you acclimated and answer your questions. And if you're ready to dive into the deep end of the pool with the rest of the Riesling fanatics, I encourage to you choose a couple of the bottles below. Taste for yourself what all the fuss is about.