Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours took place from Sunday, May 28 - Thursday, June 08, 2023. We toured Austria for 12 days, starting and ending in Vienna: Wien, Wagram, Carnuntum, Burgenland, Steiermark, Wachau, Kamptal, Kremstal, Traisental, Wien.
After spending a night in Vienna, we moved to the Halburn Palace for 2 nights.
Halbturn Palace, one of the most important baroque buildings in Burgenland, once served the imperial family as a hunting and summer residence, and today houses our winery in the former stables of the imperial Lipizzan horses.
We stayed at Hotel Knappenstöckl, which used to be Schloss Halbturn’s residential wing. Each room has a historic décor and a modern bathroom. Some rooms have solid oak floors and a separate living room and bedroom. Restaurant Knappenstöckl offers regional cuisine such as deer and fish.
During these 3 days, we discovered the Burgenland wine region. We visited
wineries in the Neusiedlersee, Leithaberg, and Eisenberg sub wine
regions. The northern sector of Burgenland is dominated by Lake
Neusiedl, Europe’s largest steppe lake, which straddles the
Austria-Hungary border. The proximity of this region to Hungary’s warm
Pannonian plains produces uniques wines from the indigenous
Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, and St. Laurent grapes as well as white wines
and noble sweet wines.
During the 2 nights at Schloss Halbturn, we enjoyed a lovely Sekt reception when we arrived and two dinners, one outside and one inside.
Weingut Schloss Halbturn
Weingut Schloss Halbturn: Weingut Schloss Halbturn is located in the heart of the impressive natural landscapes of the Pannonian lowlands and symbolizes lake Neusiedl, which is surrounded by gentle hills, the entire region. Our two vineyards are true jewels of this sun-dominated landscape. With its 42 hectares, vineyard Wittmannshof is the largest contiguous vineyard in Austria with excellent soil structures for characterful wines. This is thanks to its location on the edge of the Parndorfer Platte towards the Pannonian lowlands. The exceptional nature of our vineyard Jungenberg was recognized as early as 1214. Located on Lake Neusiedl, this vineyard is an extraordinary jewel for expressive red wines.
Two of our wines from these vineyards deserve special attention. On the oldest vines of vineyard Wittmannshof Burgundian-style Pinot Noirs grow, which make Weingut Schloss Halbturn an internationally recognized and awarded winery (inter alia Gran Maestro du Pinot Noir) for this demanding grape variety. With its great terroir on the historic terraces and thanks to our unconditional quality standards, vineyard Jungenberg produces an exceptional Cabernet Franc that is outstanding even internationally.
Our wines reflect both the character of these exceptional vineyards and the people who vinify them. Our team combines decades of skills, craftsmanship, and vision and is dedicated to the vinification of our exceptional wines with exemplary precision.
At the beginning of the 2000s Weingut Schloss Halbturn was restructured with the vision to vinifying the best wines, without compromising on quality and matching it with the vintage typicity. The passion of our owner families, Markus Graf zu Koenigsegg-Aulendorf, Maximilian Erbgraf zu Koenigsegg-Aulendorf and Dieter Hoffmann-Unzog (CEO), for matured wines shape the exceptional philosophy of the wine estate. Turning our visions into reality is a dream come true for us. We see ourselves as ambassadors for indulgence. The most valuable and precious thing we give our wines is time - time to develop their potential and aroma. We present our exquisite first label wines not earlier than five years after the harvest. Wine lovers can enjoy ready to drink red wines from our large rarity cellar, in which up to nine vintages are currently maturing and whose range we want to expand year after year.
Hotel Knappenstöckl
We stayed at Hotel Knappenstöckl, which used to be Schloss Halbturn’s residential wing. Each room has a historic décor and a modern bathroom. Some rooms have solid oak floors and a separate living room and bedroom. Restaurant Knappenstöckl offers regional cuisine such as deer and fish.
Sekt Reception
After spending the day in Vienna and in Jois at Lake Neusiedl:
Vienna: Viaker City Tour and Tour of Schloss Schönbrunn - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Restaurant Die Seejungfrau in Jois at Lake Neusiedl - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Leo Hillinger, Burgenland, with Jakob Scharner, Diplom-Sommelier - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
we arrived in the late afternoon at Schloss Halbturn, where we started our stay there with a Sekt reception in the courtyard of Schloss Halbturn, with a Weingut Schloss Halbturn Sekt Brut.
First Dinner
Following the Sekt reception, we went over to our table in the courtyard for a wine.pairing dinner, again with wines from Weingut Schloss Halbturn.
Knappenstöckl: We in the Knappenstöckl love good food! That's why we focus on the freshness, seasonality and regionality of our food - and the Seewinkel has a lot to offer: Sun-ripened vegetables, organic beef from the national park, fish from Lake Neusiedl, game from the castle's own hunting grounds. All this prepared for you by our chef de cuisine Adam Volalik to traditional Pannonian as well as regional classic delicacies. We recommend the first-class wines of the castle vineyard as well as of the best winegrowers in the area.
Good Night
Breakfast
Second Dinner
The next day, we visited 3 wineries - in Göttelsbrunn, Gols and Frauenkirchen:
Cellar Tour, Vineyard Tour and Tasting at Weingut Netzl, Carnuntum, with Franz, Christine and Christina Netzl - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Restaurant Mole West at Lake Neusiedl- Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Anita and Hans Nittnaus, Burgenland, with Anita, Hans and Martin Nittnaus - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Umathum, Burgenland, with Joseph Umathum - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
and had dinner again at Schloss Halburn, this time inside.
Touring Weingut Schloss Halbturn with Torsten Aumueller
This time, we did not visit Weingut Schloss Halbturn, but I visited Weingut Schloss Halbturn several years ago: On the Monday morning following the wedding, before going to Somlo in Hungary to meet Istvan Stephan Spiegelberg, Torsten Aumueller provided me with a quick tour of Weingut Schloss Halbturn. He went again into the major restructuring efforts that started in 2001. Torsten emphasized over and over again the high quality standards that have been applied since then, including, inter alia the manual and very selective harvest in the vineyard and the rigorous double sorting of the grapes in the wine cellar before vinification.
See: A Wedding and a Wine Tasting at Schloss Halbturn in Austria
Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours - Published and Forthcoming Postings
ombiasy WineTours: Wine Tour Schedule 2023 - Austria, Germany/East, Burgundy/ Champagne, Germany/ North
Announcement: Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours - 12 Days: May 28 - June 08, 2023
The Wines of Austria - Presentation by Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, at the 2021 American Wine Society National Conference in Atlantic City
Wine Producer Austria - Not Only Gruener Veltliner
Summary: Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Schiller’s Favorite Spots to Drink Wine in Vienna, Austria
Dinner at an Iconic Beisl in Vienna: Griechenbeisl - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour of the Monastery/ Palace Klosterneuburg and of the Weingut Klosterneuburg, with Wine Tasting - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Wiener Schnitzel and Tafelspitz at Plachutta in der Wollzeile, Vienna. Plachutta is more than a Restaurant: it is a Vienna Institution - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
After Dinner Drinks at Vis-a-Vis Wine Bar, Vienna - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Vienna: Viaker City Tour and Tour of Schloss Schönbrunn - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Restaurant Die Seejungfrau in Jois at Lake Neusiedl - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Vineyard Tour, Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Leo Hillinger, Burgenland, with Jakob Scharner, Diplom-Sommelier - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour, Vineyard Tour and Tasting at Weingut Netzl, Carnuntum, with Franz, Christine and Christina Netzl - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Lunch at Restaurant Mole West at Lake Neusiedl- Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Anita and Hans Nittnaus, Burgenland, with Anita, Hans and Martin Nittnaus - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Umathum, Burgenland, with Joseph Umathum - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
A Wedding and a Wine Tasting at Schloss Halbturn in Austria
Sekt Reception in the Court Yard and Dinner at Schloss Halbturn, Burgenland
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Steindorfer, Burgenland, with Ernst and Roland Steindorfer
Light Lunch at Gránátos Étterem at Esterházy Kástely in Fertöd, Hungary
Tour of the Liszt-Haus in Raiding
Tasting at Weingut Straka, Burgenland, with Thomas Straka
Wine and Food from Burgenland at Wachter-Wieslers Ratschen, Deutsch-Schuetzen, Austria - with Tom and Christoph Wachter and Julia Sevenich
Eating and Sleeping in the Vineyard: Wohnothek am Ratschen, Deutsch-Schützen, with Chef Daniel Sulzer, Restaurant am Ratschen, 16 Points Gault-Millau
Tasting at Weingut Wachter-Wiesler, Burgenland, with Julia Wachter
Tour, Tasting and Lunch at Weingut Jalits, Burgenland, with Mathias Jalits
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Neumeister, Steiermark, with Christoph Neumeister
Dinner with a View at Hotel Weinrefugium, Steiermark
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Sattlerhof, Steiermark, with Justė Sattler
Visit: Gerhard Wohlmuth sen. and his Weingut Wohlmuth in Austria
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Wohlmuth, Steiermark
Lunch and Tasting at Buschenschank Weingut Trummer, Steiermark, with Jürgen Trummer
Tasting at Weingut Polz, Steiermark, with Sommelier Philipp Heidenbauer
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Tement, Steiermark, with Sommelier Andy Bodor
Lunch at Restaurant Magnothek/ Weingut Tement, Südsteiermark
Gustav Mahler, Sinfonie Nr.3 at Graz Opera, Steiermark
In Eisenstadt, Burgenland: Tour at Haydn House, Lunch at Restaurant Henrici, Tour at Esterhazy Castle
At Loisium Wine & Spa Resort Langenlois, Kamptal: Impromptu Steininger Sekt Reception with Eva Steininger and Klaus Wittauer
Wine-pairing Dinner at Heurigenhof Bründlmeyer with Chef Jan Pfeiffer, 15.5 Point Gault Millau
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Steininger, Kamptal, with Brigitta Steininger
The Wines of Stefanie and Alwin Jurtschitsch, Weingut Jurtschitsch, Kamptal, Austria
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Stephanie and Alwin Jurtschitsch, Kamptal, with Alwin Jurtschitsch
Lunch at Braugasthaus zum Fiakerwirtin Langenlois, Kamptal
Tasting at Weingut Markus Huber, Traisental, with Markus Huber
2 Days in Dürnstein, Wachau, at Hotel Richard Löwenherz
Martin Mittelbach
from the "Tegernseehof"and Klaus Wittauer from "KWSelection" Presented
Tegernseehof Wines and Stefan Trummer and Chef Austin Fausett from
“Trummer’s on Main” in Clifton Austrian Appetizers at the Austrian
Embassy in Washington DC, USA
Vineyard Walk and Tasting at Weingut Tebernseerhof, Wachau, with Owner/ Winemaker Martin Mittelbach
Tour and Tasting at Domäne Wachau, Dürnstein, Wachau
Tasting and Dinner at Weingut Nigl, Kremstal, 13.5 Points Gault Millau
Vintage 2011 Tasting with Lucas Pichler, Weingut F.X. Pichler, with Dirk Wuertz at his Koenigsmuehle in Rheinhessen, Austria/Germany
Tour and Tasting at Weingut F.X.Pichler, Wachau, with Lucas Pichler
Tasting at Weingut Matthias Hager, Kamptal, with Doris Hager
Lunch at Gasthaus Gutmann, Zöbing, Kamptal
Tour and Tasting at Weingut Schloss Gobelsburg, Kamptal, with Stefan Tabery