Risk and Reward in Austria’s Warming Wachau
In an age defined by climate emergency, can winegrowers in Austria’s warming Wachau react and adapt fast enough to maintain the region’s historic pole position?
In an age defined by climate emergency, can winegrowers in Austria’s warming Wachau react and adapt fast enough to maintain the region’s historic pole position?
Simon J. Woolf has been writing about natural and orange wine since 2011. He is the award-winning founder of "The Morning Claret" and author of the seminal Amber Revolution (2018) and Foot Trodden (2021), both named New York Times wine books of the year. Simon contributes to Decanter, where he serves as a Regional Chair, as well as World of Fine Wine and Noble Rot. Recently, he launched a consultancy guiding authors in self-publishing. Based in Amsterdam, he is a keen cook and lover of music ranging from Stockhausen to ClownC0re.
Channeling literary theory in order to propose a new threshold test for fine wine.
Under the onslaught of record-breaking drought, the Neusiedlersee is posing new conundrums for Austrian winegrowers. And this isn't the first time.
12/14/2020 Eat & TRINK | Alpkäse and Kamptal Riesling By Ursula Heinzelmann The entirely spontaneous, yet infinitely harmonious tinkling of cow bells. The crunching of my boots along a narrow mountain path. The joyous gurgling of a stream winding its way down among rocks, moss, and roots. This is one of my favorite cheese soundtracks. The accompanying “smelltrack” is of warm stables in the haze of first light and earthy, pungent bodies, redolent of the basic facts of life. Wood smoke rising from under a round copper vat. And of course the reassuring, lactic aroma of warm milk and whey,…...
St. Lawrence, the man, was born in Valencia, Spain, sometime around 225 CE. He moved to Rome to work with Pope Sixtus II, became a deacon, and earned a reputation as a champion of the poor. On August 10, 258, Roman Emperor Valerian sentenced him to die by being lashed to a bed of hot coals. But so great was his devotion to god, the legend goes, that he resisted the flames, demanding that his tormentors flip him like a steak. A martyr was made. St. Laurent, the grape, is thought to have originated in what is now eastern Austria…...
Tafelspitz is the Austrian inspiration for holiday feasting. Emily Campeau tells the story and offers a fool-proof recipe.
With its nearly ideal set of conditions — location, climate, indigenous varieties —Austria’s Thermenregion curiously remains an insider secret. In addition to a colorful mix of varieties common in Austria, this region just south of Vienna devotes 200 of its 2,200 hectares to the autochthonous grapes Rotgipfler and Zierfandler. They are the region’s great opportunity and are now back in growers’ sights, as illustrated by their well-deserved inclusion in the book 111 Weine aus Österreich, die man getrunken haben muss. Beyond this, some producers here are venturing into new areas, like pét-nat, while among red wines, Sankt Laurent and Pinot…...
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