TÖUR DE VIN

I love the stories behind wine. So much so that I’ve made it a weekly ritual to take turns telling stories about wineries or simply listening to them. And whilst I really enjoy spending hours on the phone with winemakers, asking them all sorts of questions, there’s always something special about visiting the wineries and seeing where the wine is made.

Stop 1: Weingut Bründlmayer

The Tour de Vin is a one-of-a-kind event in the world of – seeking a better word – ‘wine events’. This is where the wine nerds meet the long-standing winery fans, where ‘It’s always been brilliant!’ meets ‘Why exactly is it so good?’ Here, we look more closely into the glass, not deeper. We don’t borrow just one glass, but four, so we can taste the Gaisberg vertical at Hirsch at our leisure. And when Willi Bründlmayer invites us on a vineyard tour or Alwin Jurtschitsch on a cellar tour, we ask them endless questions with great enthusiasm. At the Tour de Vin, it seems that everyone present has a genuine appreciation for the work of the ÖTW – and that’s probably exactly why I feel so at home here. But first things first.

The first tasters are already raring to go, and to be honest, Bründlmayer’s sparkling wines are a great way to start. But we’re not just here to taste wine – there’s a very special highlight on the programme: Willi Bründlmayer himself is taking us on a tour of the vineyards. The group of interested visitors is correspondingly large; a quick bit of organising takes place until everyone has found the right lift, then off we go. Following Willi, we make our way through Langenlois and up to the Käferberg.

It is a real treat to be here with a winemaker who brings decades of experience and stories to the table. From history and soil conditions to climatic trends, viticultural craftsmanship and the development of tourism in the Kamptal, we’ve covered absolutely every topic.

Of course, I also take the opportunity to have a quick chat with Willi during a break and ask him about the early days of the ÖTW – back when it was all just an idea that needed time to take shape. “It’s fitting that you ask that here. Vineyard walks, like the one we’re doing today, were actually the beginning of the ÖTW.” Willi explains that he and his colleagues used to spend a great deal of time out in the vineyards back then and had walked the plots several times before determining, through wine tastings, which ones should be classified as ‘Erste Lage’ in their eyes. It was a lengthy process, so it must have been all the more magnificent to see “ÖTW Erste Lage” printed on a label for the first time. We also discuss current developments and the issue of legislation, and Willi concludes: “And that’s now a next-generation issue.”

Stop 2: Weingut Hirsch

After the vineyard walk, the rest of the group will be sampling wines from the Käferberg vineyard at the winery, but we have to move on: the Gaisberg vertical tasting at Hirsch awaits! We drive out to Kammern and find ourselves in the tasting room, which probably offers the most beautiful view of that very vineyard. Inside, the whole Hirsch family is serving up a selection of mature vintages – hello there, Heiligenstein 2017 – and on the lawn in front of the glass front, snacks from the Esslokal in Hadersdorf beckon. That’s exactly what we do: a sip of Gaisberg 2016 in our glass, restaurant treats on the table, the sun on our faces and the vineyards before us. It really wasn’t easy to tear ourselves away from that garden chair, but when Alwin Jurtschitsch opens the doors to his cellar – which, according to him, only happens a few times a year – then you simply have to be there.

Stop 5: Weingut Geyerhof

The end of our Tour de Vin feels a little bit like coming home. Every time I arrive at the Geyerhof, I’m struck all over again by just how beautiful it is here. There’s so much love poured into these old walls, such a keen appreciation for the finer things in life. And when you speak to Maria and Seppi Maier, you immediately understand where that comes from. Here, everything is given time – the wines and the people alike. In the tasting room, we meet familiar faces, all of whom have chosen this place to round off their tour – and for good reason. We chat about the different routes and the activities on offer at the individual wineries, which often go far beyond the topic of Vitis Vinifera. Personally, I’m a bit disappointed because I had to miss the classic oldtimers that had graced the Geyerhof the day before. Instead of those motorised fun vehicles, the next day there were racing bikes from Zweiradfreude to look at and try out – a fascination I perhaps don’t quite share, but which many other visitors certainly do. And when you hear all the details about these technologically sophisticated machines, you can’t help but feel a great deal of respect.