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Articles about 'Austria'
Everybody knows that we (Californians) have a governor with an Austrian background (and an Austrian accent !). And everybody knows Aaanold from one movie or the other or has seen him on TV. Probably only few fans have heard that Mr. Schwarzenegger's fav wine maker is Gerhard Wohlmuth, both of course hailing from the same Austrian wine region, Styria. Arnold's longing for home cooking in the US was so strong that he opened his own restaurant in Santa Monica, Schatzi on Main that dishes out traditional Austrian cuisine.
If you're talking about Austrian restaurants in the US you have to mention the expanding food empire of Wolfgang Puck. Many people have eaten in one of his restaurants, or have baked one of the gourmet pizzas sporting his name, or have watched one of his entertaining cooking shows on TV. Of course, Wolfgang is an Austrian hero too, born in the southern province of Carinthia. Thoroughly trained in France, Wolfgang continued in LA to pioneer Californian fusion cuisine with his distinct Austrian background as a major ingredient.
Then there are various wine makers who have this particular ethnic heritage in common, among them one of the founders of the Canadian Inniskillin estate. I doubt that many afficionados who love their famous ice wines are aware that the head wine maker, Karl Kaiser, is a native of Austria. It was KuK who learnt about making Eiswein during his time as a high school student in a Cistercian monastery boarding school in rural Austria.
But who would have imagined that there is an Austrian couple toiling away in the midst of Piemont's vineyards to produce Barbera and Moscato wines. Anneliese and Harry König are also managing a boarding house in historic surroundings, officially called the Azienda Vitivinicola Casa Re. Judging from their web site it must be a very cosy kind of place, so if you are travelling in Italy and you want to meet some real Austrians, go visit them. Then come back and tell us how the Austrians are doing in the heartland of Italian wine making.
We know this much already: if it has anything to do with food and wine, or tourism and hospitality, Austrians tend to overachieve. It does not matter in which corner of the world they happen to be, Austrians are always at home in a kitchen or a cellar and they are always willing to share the goodies!
This year's VinExpo Americas was the second exhibition of its kind in the US produced by the same folks who bring us the big and fancy Vin Expo in Bordeaux, the mother of all wine trade shows. It was held at the beginning of June in Chicago in a move away from New York where the first one was staged. Approximately 6000 professionals visited the show. A recap by the organizers is available online at the link build into the headline above.
Blue Danube Wine Company exhibited in the booth expertly put together and managed by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. More than a dozen Austrian wineries were directly represented, joined by approximately a dozen US importers of Austrian wines. In all, more than 100 different wines were poured, providing visitors a fairly comprehensive insight into the different style of wines produced in the various wine regions in Austria. Judging from the feedback we received it is fair to say that visitors were surprised to discover that Austria has much more to offer than the ubiquitous GruVe which has started to make inroads in American wine shops and wine lists. They were also impressed by the overall high quality of Austrian wines which were well represented in this tasting. Alltogether, VinExpo served to support and expand the ongoing success Austrian wines are currently enjoying in the US market.
Also of note in the magnificent huge hall of the McCormick Center located beautifully at the shores of Lake Michigan was the very first appearance of a good dozen Hungarian wineries on US soil. In a last minute effort they had decided to make the big step across the seas and put their little toe in the deep and complex waters of the American wine market. Among the estates represented were some of our favorites: Attila Gere and Joszef Bock from red wine paradise, Villany, Tibor Gal from the Bikaver town of Eger, and Huba Szeremley from the famed vineyards of Badacsony at Lake Balaton. Sadly, most of these wines are still not available here.
We participated at VinExpo mainly to increase availability of these wines across the US. This really requires establishing a wider distribution network and finding partner companies who can cover one or more of the 50 states of the Union. Construction has started, let us know if you want to distribute any of the wines we import or if you know a distributor who wants to expand his portfolio with wines from Central-Eastern Europe.
In time for the recent VieVinum wine show in Vienna, the Austrian wine magazine Falstaff has published the English language wine guide for 2004/2005. The German language original has long been indispensable for anybody interested in Austrian wines and her wine makers. Here is the slimmed down English edition, published for the second time around. Great resource that includes maps and information about the key wine regions in this small--but Oh so beautiful--wine country.
The Ultimate Austrian Wine Guide 2004/2005,290 pages, colour
in Europe:
€ 19,90
worldwide:
€ 22,90
Falstaff Publishing Ltd.Inkustrasse 1-7, A-3400 Klosterneuburg
Tel.: 0043-2243-34798, Fax: 0043-2243-25840
redaktion@falstaff.at
www.falstaff.at
Austrians Everywhere
Posted 07 27 2004 by frank 0 CommentsEverybody knows that we (Californians) have a governor with an Austrian background (and an Austrian accent !). And everybody knows Aaanold from one movie or the other or has seen him on TV. Probably only few fans have heard that Mr. Schwarzenegger's fav wine maker is Gerhard Wohlmuth, both of course hailing from the same Austrian wine region, Styria. Arnold's longing for home cooking in the US was so strong that he opened his own restaurant in Santa Monica, Schatzi on Main that dishes out traditional Austrian cuisine.
If you're talking about Austrian restaurants in the US you have to mention the expanding food empire of Wolfgang Puck. Many people have eaten in one of his restaurants, or have baked one of the gourmet pizzas sporting his name, or have watched one of his entertaining cooking shows on TV. Of course, Wolfgang is an Austrian hero too, born in the southern province of Carinthia. Thoroughly trained in France, Wolfgang continued in LA to pioneer Californian fusion cuisine with his distinct Austrian background as a major ingredient.
Then there are various wine makers who have this particular ethnic heritage in common, among them one of the founders of the Canadian Inniskillin estate. I doubt that many afficionados who love their famous ice wines are aware that the head wine maker, Karl Kaiser, is a native of Austria. It was KuK who learnt about making Eiswein during his time as a high school student in a Cistercian monastery boarding school in rural Austria.
But who would have imagined that there is an Austrian couple toiling away in the midst of Piemont's vineyards to produce Barbera and Moscato wines. Anneliese and Harry König are also managing a boarding house in historic surroundings, officially called the Azienda Vitivinicola Casa Re. Judging from their web site it must be a very cosy kind of place, so if you are travelling in Italy and you want to meet some real Austrians, go visit them. Then come back and tell us how the Austrians are doing in the heartland of Italian wine making.
We know this much already: if it has anything to do with food and wine, or tourism and hospitality, Austrians tend to overachieve. It does not matter in which corner of the world they happen to be, Austrians are always at home in a kitchen or a cellar and they are always willing to share the goodies!
Tags: austria
VinExpo Americas in Review
Posted 07 26 2004 by frank 0 CommentsThis year's VinExpo Americas was the second exhibition of its kind in the US produced by the same folks who bring us the big and fancy Vin Expo in Bordeaux, the mother of all wine trade shows. It was held at the beginning of June in Chicago in a move away from New York where the first one was staged. Approximately 6000 professionals visited the show. A recap by the organizers is available online at the link build into the headline above.
Blue Danube Wine Company exhibited in the booth expertly put together and managed by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. More than a dozen Austrian wineries were directly represented, joined by approximately a dozen US importers of Austrian wines. In all, more than 100 different wines were poured, providing visitors a fairly comprehensive insight into the different style of wines produced in the various wine regions in Austria. Judging from the feedback we received it is fair to say that visitors were surprised to discover that Austria has much more to offer than the ubiquitous GruVe which has started to make inroads in American wine shops and wine lists. They were also impressed by the overall high quality of Austrian wines which were well represented in this tasting. Alltogether, VinExpo served to support and expand the ongoing success Austrian wines are currently enjoying in the US market.
Also of note in the magnificent huge hall of the McCormick Center located beautifully at the shores of Lake Michigan was the very first appearance of a good dozen Hungarian wineries on US soil. In a last minute effort they had decided to make the big step across the seas and put their little toe in the deep and complex waters of the American wine market. Among the estates represented were some of our favorites: Attila Gere and Joszef Bock from red wine paradise, Villany, Tibor Gal from the Bikaver town of Eger, and Huba Szeremley from the famed vineyards of Badacsony at Lake Balaton. Sadly, most of these wines are still not available here.
We participated at VinExpo mainly to increase availability of these wines across the US. This really requires establishing a wider distribution network and finding partner companies who can cover one or more of the 50 states of the Union. Construction has started, let us know if you want to distribute any of the wines we import or if you know a distributor who wants to expand his portfolio with wines from Central-Eastern Europe.
Just Out: Austrian Wine Guide 2004/2005
Posted 07 18 2004 by frank 0 CommentsIn time for the recent VieVinum wine show in Vienna, the Austrian wine magazine Falstaff has published the English language wine guide for 2004/2005. The German language original has long been indispensable for anybody interested in Austrian wines and her wine makers. Here is the slimmed down English edition, published for the second time around. Great resource that includes maps and information about the key wine regions in this small--but Oh so beautiful--wine country.
The Ultimate Austrian Wine Guide 2004/2005,290 pages, colour
in Europe:
€ 19,90
worldwide:
€ 22,90
Falstaff Publishing Ltd.Inkustrasse 1-7, A-3400 Klosterneuburg
Tel.: 0043-2243-34798, Fax: 0043-2243-25840
redaktion@falstaff.at
www.falstaff.at
10 Year Anniversary Tasting - The Age of Riesling
Posted 07 15 2004 by frank 0 Comments
We have been waiting for the annual invitation to the big summer tasting hosted by Bay Area Riesling fan & wine merchant, Bill Mayer. Finally, his newsletter arrived with only a few weeks to go to the big event. Looks to us as if Bill still is the same sponti, except of the Berkeley variety, we were in Berlin some years ago. This time we've been surprised that it is already his 10th tasting in a row. More than 50 fine wines (mainly from Terry Theise's portfolio of German and Austrian wines) will be served for a fee of only $30.
We have experienced a couple of earlier tastings and can attest: they are always fun, there are usually plenty of fine wines to sample, and a good time is had by all. Well worth the money!
Saturday, July 31st, 2004
12 noon to 5pm
Oakland, California
call Bill Mayer at: (510) 549-2444 or write him at billmayer@sbcglobal.net
And keep Bill's advice in mind: Don't forget to spit!
Wine Enthusiast Magazine Designates Inniskillin as New World Winery of the Year
Posted 11 21 2003 by frank 0 Comments
Wine Enthusiast Magazine announced today that Inniskillin has been chosen as the New World Winery of the Year, citing the efforts of co-founders Karl Kaiser and Donald Ziraldo as the innovators and leaders of Canada's growing wine industry.
tizwine.com (An on-line magazine published in NZ!)
First off, Congratulations to Inniskillin for this well-earned award. They certainly have been instrumental in educating the North American consumer's taste buds to appreciate Eiswein (icewine). Along the way they innovated how to market and package fairly exotic and pricy wines. Little did we know that the winemaker of the team, Karl Kaiser, hails from Austria, where he grew up with the delicious Austrian style sweet wines, TBA (TrockenBeerenAuslese) and Eiswein. It certainly looks as if he brought a lot of his sweet ethnic heritage with him when he moved to Canada!
Tags: austria innskillin
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