Reported by Jim Gallivan

A group of hardy guild members braved the elements to celebrate Ash Wednesday Austrian style. The event was organized by Director Joe Hatz to coincide with the “traditional” Austrian dinner prepared by the chef Russell Weir at the Sheraton Hotel.

When we were seated we were faced with 6 Austrian wines for tasting, 3 Gruner Veltliners, a Riesling, a Pinot Noir, and a Zweigelt. Each Gruner Veltliner represented a different region. The first, a 2004 Pannonische Weingartner Neisiedlersee Ried Goldberg from the plains near the Neusiedlersee, was slightly sweet with grassy and citrus tones reminiscent of a warm climate Sauvignon Blanc. This one is coming to Vintages shortly. The second Gruner Veltliner was a 2004 Schottenmeister and it had a distinct minerality with an orange/apricot nose. The third Gruner, a 2004 Weingut Brundlmeyer Langenloiser Terrassen from the Kamptal, had a wet wool, lanolin, and floral nose. All were well balanced with good acid. The 2000 Freie Weingertner Wachau Riesling was dry with honey, petrol, and spice. The Pinot Noir, a Kloster am Spitz 1999 Reserve, was earthy, with a cherry/raspberry nose, good fruit, and well-balanced—a cross between old world and new. The Zweigelt, a 2002 Weingut Glatzer, Dornenvogel, was rich black cherry with ripe tannin and good acid.

Dinner was a buffet of cold and hot fish dishes, followed by a selection of traditional Austrian desserts. The cold buffet featured trout, salmon, shrimp, lobster, scallop, mussels, calamari, and herring in various styles. The hot buffet included smoked salmon, curried scallops, breaded sole, and stuffed trout. Dinner was accompanied by three more wines, Henkel Trocken NV sparkler (a last minute replacement for the Austrian Schlumberger Sekt), a 2003 Rabl Gruner Veltliner, and a Pannonische Weingarten Blaufrankisch currently available at Vintages. The Henkel Trocken was slightly sweet, clean, and crisp—a palate-cleanser. The Rabl was off-dry with floral, beeswax, and ripe pear, while the Blaufrankisch had a black cherry and plum nose with good tannin, but was not as complex as the Weingut Glatzer.

The white wines were all good matches with various dishes, although sorting out food-wine pairings was a challenge given the number of flavours on the plate. A few of the more memorable matches were the Brundlmeyer Gruner Veltliner and the pickled herring, the Schottenmeister Gruner Veltliner and the scallop mousse, the smoked salmon and the Pinot Noir, and  the Freie Weingertner Riesling and the stuffed trout. The Zweigelt overwhelmed the fish dishes, but was an excellent counterpoint for the rich chocolate desserts.

The wines: 

• Pannonische Weingartner Neisiedlersee, Ried Goldberg, Gruner Veltliner, 2004
  
• Schottenmeister Gruner Veltliner, 2004
  
• Weingut Brundlmeyer, Langenloiser Gruner Veltliner, Terrassen, 2004
  
• Freie Weingertner Wachau, Terrassen Riesling, Smaragd, 2000
  
• Kloster am Spitz, Pinot Nois Reserve, 1999
  
• Weingut Glatzer, Dornenvogel, Zweigelt, 2002
  
• Henkel Trocken, NV
  
• Rabl Gruner Veltliner Spiegel, 2003
  
• Pannonische Weingartner Blaufrankisch, 2003