A few years after Dorli Muhr and Dirk Niepoort went separate ways in their private lives, they have decided to terminate their professional partnership. Dorli Muhr is taking over the fifty per cent holding from her Dutch/Portuguese partner to turn the former limited partnership into Weingut Dorli Muhr. It was in 2002, the year of their marriage that Dorli Muhr and Dirk Niepoort vinified their first Blaufrankisch red wines on the slopes of Spitzerberg in the Carnuntum region of Austria. They produced just 500 bottles and since then the estate has grown steadily. "It is a highly emotional moment for me to return the name Muhr to Prellenkirchen," said Dorli Muhr. "My grandmother spent her childhood and teenage years in Prellenkirchen and she always carried this village and the Spitzerberg with her in her heart. For me, the hours I spent with her in the tiny vineyard parcels on the Spitzerberg were always very special. They left an indelible mark on my relationship to this place and … [Read more...]
Skiing, fine dining and wine in Austria this winter
For the first time ever, gourmet-skiing routes have been developed in five regions in Austria. Based on regional culinary traditions, they are designed to highlight the specialities of each region. The suggested routes combine leisurely skiing with getting to know both the ski resorts and the local cuisine. The regions are Salzburg Sportwelt, Schladming-Dachstein, Gastein, Grossarital and Hochkonig. From 16 to 23 March 2019, more than 20 hotels will be offering packages geared towards the theme of skiing and wine. For the whole week, wine tastings will be offered in the hotels and at the ski and wine huts. A special highlight will be the Highest Farmers' Market in the Alps where farmers and producers will service their products directly at market stalls found in the ski huts. Just like a true farmers' market in the valley, skiers will be able to purchase cheese, ham, sausages and schnapps directly from the producers as well as jams, honey and tea. Numerous gourmet programmes … [Read more...]
Four new grape varieties permitted for Austrian quality wine
Four new white wine varieties are now permitted for Qualitätswein (quality wine) in Austria, via a collective amendment to Austrian wine law. Three of these are fungus-resistant new crossings known as PIWIs. Blütenmuskateller, Goldmuskateller, Muscaris and Souvignier Gris, all white grape varieties, were elevated to the status of Qualitätswein varieties during the summer through a collective amendment to Austrian wine law. This increases the total of Qualitätswein varieties in Austria to forty. The inclusion of the Goldmuskateller (Moscato Giallo) takes into account that, along with Muskat Ottonel and Gelber or Roter Muskateller, the Goldmuskateller, which is less susceptible to rot, also shows promise. Blütenmuskateller, Muscaris, and Souvignier Gris are three of the fungus-resistant grape varieties known as PIWIs. In addition to the two red PIWI varieties Rathay and Roesler, this is the first time that white PIWI wine varieties have been approved for the production of … [Read more...]
Earliest harvest in decades for 2018 Austrian wine vintage
Extreme heat and lack of rain and moisture has characterised the 2018 Austrian wine harvest but for the most part, Austria's grapevines were able to withstand the heat. "We had an early and very ripe vintage on our hands, one in which persistent high temperatures led to consistently higher levels of alcohol and lower levels of acidity. Volume will be just above average: we are looking forward to a harvest in the magnitude of some 2.6 million hectolitres," said Johannes Schmuckenschlager, president of the Viticultural Association. The 2018 vintage will be one of the earliest harvests in decades. The vines budded later than usual this year, which in comparison to the previous two years provided the advantage that they suffered no damage from frost. The heat wave that set in just after budding in April and May led to one of the earliest flowerings since records have been kept. In most winegrowing regions, flowering was finished in May, which amounted to an enormous head start in the … [Read more...]
Konstanin Filippou: Creativity starts with quietness
When it comes to the creative process Konstantin Filippou loves quietness. As chef of a fine dining restaurant of the same name in Vienna, Austria, he finds that it is best to concentrate and to trigger ideas either in the dead of night after a dinner service or else when he is completely quiet. While he enjoys music on his days off, in the kitchen, he does not even allow music to be played because it makes him nervous. “Creativity starts with quietness,” he told Food and Wine Gazette in an interview. That sense of quietness, of focus and of searching for answers and taking the time to think may be what has led this talented Austrian chef to retain his focus even when times were hard. So when Michelin called Konstantin Filippou’s name and awarded him two stars for his restaurant earlier this week it was the culmination of a dream he has laboured on quietly and within. In 2013, just when he had signed the lease for the restaurant in Vienna and signed to purchase the equipment … [Read more...]
Good 2017 for Austrian wine despite problematic weather
2017 was not easy for Austria's wine growers who had to do their utmost to cope with capricious weather during the year. And while the end result for the wine has been positive, it was not a sure thing.The coldest January in the last thirty years was followed by the warmest March since meteorological records have been kept, resulting in a very early bud-break. With the devastating frosts of 2016 still fresh in memory, a spate of winter weather caused substantial anxiety in April and parts of May. Fortunately, this cold snap did not persist for long. In addition, Austria’s growers were able to employ all imaginable means at the right time, so that there was hardly any frost damage reported. The precipitation in September and the relatively dramatic temperature swings between day and night in the autumn had an appreciably positive influence on the development of aromas. Even from the initial tastings, it could be established with satisfaction that the heat-stress of the summer had … [Read more...]
2017: A very fine and abundant vintage for Austrian wine with winemakers describing it as a picture perfect year
Austria has reported a harvest that is good in terms of quality and volume. While worldwide 2017 saw the lowest level of wine production in years, Austria's yield of 2.6 million hl (according to October’s third harvest estimate) amounted to a quarter above the five-year average, which will go a long way to filling cellars that in many places have been rather empty. True, there were late frosts in 2017 as well as hailstorms, but both caused substantially less damage than in the previous year. Only the Weinviertel experienced a more modest harvest compared with the average, due to extremely arid conditions in one of the hottest summers in a long time. In general, this year was distinguished by constant fluctuations of temperature, setting meteorological records. 2017 began with the coldest January of the past thirty years, which in addition was also very dry – by contrast, February was extraordinarily warm. This was followed by the warmest month of March that had ever been recorded in … [Read more...]
Lukas Nagl: “You have to love what you do”
Food writer and GELINAZ! co-curator Andrea Petrini calls Austria the new Slovenia and he is definitely on to something. To date, Austria has been shy to present itself on the podium of world cuisine and present its chefs. But that is set to change after GELINAZ! does upper Austria Leading the revival in Austria is Heinz Reitbauer, chef of the amazing Steirereck in Vienna. But behind him is a growing number of young talented chefs who are pushing the boundaries, using local produce to create magic. One such talent is 28-year-old Lukas Nagl, a young Austrian chef who you are likely to hear much more about in future. He is the executive chef of the restaurant Bootshaus at the Das Traunsee in the idyllic Lake Traunsee. After working in the kitchens of Steirereck and Per Se among others, he decided to go back to his roots in Traunseehis first son was born in 2012. “This is the region I belong to. So when the opportunity arose to work there an to be able to work in the restaurant whose … [Read more...]
The GELINAZ! welcome dinner at Steirereck
The red carpets were out at Steirereck for the GELINAZ! welcome dinner on Wednesday 16th August. Chefs from all corners of the world and journalists had travelled here to take part in the GELINAZ! DOES UPPER AUSTRIA event that was taking place on 20th August at the Muhltahof in Neufelden. But a visit as guests of Heinz Reitbauer was also on the cards because he is the most representative Austrian chef and the one who is leading a quiet revolution in Austria that could see the country ride the wave of culinary tourism that is rising in importance each year. Think about Austria and you think about Vienna, mountains, idyllic lakes, Alpine skiing and the Sound of Music. You might know about the Wiener Schnitzel or the Sacher Torte but Austria's food remains its best kept secret. But that could soon change. Love lists or hate lists there is a reason why Heinz Reitbauer of Vienna restaurant Steirereck in Stadtpark has been quietly rising in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. His … [Read more...]
Heinz Reitbauer: GELINAZ! was a great opportunity to show the world what Austria has to offer
A quiet revolution has been going on in Austria in the world of food and that is being led by chef Heinz Reitbauer who has slowly but surely climbed up the rankings of the World's 5o Best Restaurants list to reach 10th place with his Vienna restaurant Steirereck which is housed in a monolithic glass cube. "We cannot imagine how important for Austria it is that GELINAZ! came to our country. It gives us a chance to show to a lot of people, to chefs and the whole world the products we have, the current state of gastronomy in Austria and what we are thinking about Austrian food. We have been working with our producers to build something for many years and now we have the chance to showcase it," Reitbauer told Food and Wine Gazette in an interview. "The quality of the products and the standard of cooking is very high wherever you go," says the most representative chef of Austria at the moment. "Maybe our wines are known better than our cuisine because you can nearly always find … [Read more...]