At the annual spring presentation of the winemakers of the VDP Rheingau (the VDP is the association of German elite winemakers and VDP Rheingau the subdivision of VDP members from the Rheingau) at Kloster Eberbach on Sunday March 8, 2015, the VDP Rheingau winemakers had invited their colleagues from the Burgenland in Austria. Thus, the about 30 winemakers from the Rheingau, predominantly presenting Riesling, were joined in the Lay Brothers' Dormitory at Kloster Eberbach by about 30 winemakers from Burgenland, predominantly presenting red wines.
Rheingau
It is remarkable: For its entire length of nearly 560 miles, the Rhine flows north with one exception – a 28-mile stretch where the river changes its course. Here, it flows to the west, thereby enabling both the river and the vineyards facing it to bask in the warmth of the sun all day long. This is the Rheingau, one of the medium-size German wine regions. It is a quietly beautiful region, rich in tradition. Queen Victoria's enthusiasm for Hochheim's wines contributed to their popularity in England, where they, and ultimately, Rhine wines in general, were referred to as Hock.
The third President of the USA - and notable bon viveur - Thomas Jefferson visited the Rheingau in 1788 and wrote that the wine of the "Abbaye of Johnsberg is the best made on the Rhine without comparison … That of the year 1775 is the best." He also referred to the Rheingau’s Riesling as the "small and delicate Rhysslin which grows only from Hochheim to Rudesheim". Impressed by the quality of the Rheingau Riesling wines, he bought 100 grapevines to take back to his estate in Virginia.
Although the Rheingau is one of Germany’s smaller wine-growing regions, its 3,100 ha (7,660 acres) of vineyards are vastly diverse in their geological makeup. The soil varies from stony slate at the western part near the villages of Assmannshausen and Rudesheim to loess, sand and marl in the lower central villages of Geisenheim, Johannisberg, Winkel, Oestrich and Hattenheim. Soil reverts to stony phyllite in the higher central and eastern villages of Hallgarten, Kiedrich and Hochheim. Generally, wines from the lower slopes where the soil is heavier—sandy loam and loess—produce fuller wines, while at the higher slopes where it is more stony and slatey, the wines reflect more minerality, elegance and concentration.
The Rheingau enjoys a distinctly continental climate with cold winters and warm, but not hot, summers. The Rheingau is dominated by Riesling, accounting for 4/5 of the vineyard area. Pinot Noir accounts for 1/10 and is concentrated around Assmannshausen.
The following wine producers from the Rheingau showed their wines – mainly Grosses Gewächs and other Rieslings from the 2013 vintage, but also a few older vintages as well as a few Rheingau Pinot Noir wines: Allendorf, Barth, Diefenhardt, Joachim Flick, Alexander Freimuth, Georg Müller Stiftung, Hamm, Prinz von Hessen, Hessische Staatsweingüter Kloster Eberbach, Johannishof, Toni Jost, Jakob Jung, Graf von Kanitz, Baron Knyphausen, Robert König, Peter Jakob Kühn, Künstler ,Lorenz H. Kunz, Hans Lang (Urban Kaufmann GmbH), Leitz, G. H. von Mumm, Achim von Oetinger, Balthasar Ress, Schloss Johannisberg, Schloss Vollrads, F. B. Schönleber, Josef Spreitzer, Robert Weil und Domdechant Werner.
Burgenland
Burgenland is one of Austria’s 4 wine regions – Lower Austria, Styria, Burgenland and Vienna. For many years Burenland was a bit on the margin, although it has a log wine growing tradition. Burgenland belonged to Hungary until 1921 when it was annexed to Austria post WWI. It is a melting pot of Magyar, Slavic and Austrian cultures. Many of the towns have two names, one Croatian or Hungarian and the other name Austrian.
The vineyard area of Burgenland totals 14.000 hectares and comprises 4 areas: (1) Neusiedlersee: At the edges of the vast and shallow Lake Neusiedl, a variety of grapes are grown on 9,100 hectares of vineyards, including world-famous noble sweet wines. (2) Neusiedlersee-Hügelland: At the foot of the Leithagebirge and west of Lake Neusiedl, a variety of grapes are grown on 4,150 hectares of vineyards, including the renowned Ruster Ausbruch. (3) Mittelburgenland: On 2,100 hectares of vineyards, one red grape variety plays the leading role: Blaufränkisch and 4 towns are the wine-growing area´s main producers: Deutschkreutz, Horitschon, Lutzmannsburg and Neckenmarkt. (4) Südburgenland: One of Austria´s smallest wine-growing areas, where excellent terroir wines are produced from 500 hectares of vineyards, which are situated mainly on the Eisenberg, with Blaufraenkisch being the typical red wine.
The spectrum of Burgenland wine ranges from great white wines and full bodied red wines to an array of noble sweet wines. The shallow Neusiedler See (Lake Neusiedl) is one of the few places on earth where noble rot attacks grapes reliably every year. At the same time, there has been a red wine revolution in Austria during the last 20 years and increasingly Austria’ top red wines tend to come from the Burgenland.
Burgenland was represented by the following winemakers, who mainly brought their top red wines: Bernthaler & Bernthaler, Esterhazy, Feiler-Artinger, Giefing, Goldenits, Groszer Wein, Hans Igler, Jalits, JbN - Jägersberger, Koppitsch, Kummer, Herbert Lassl, Leberl, Leo Hillinger, Mad - Haus Marienberg, Nehrer, Nittnaus, Pöckl, Prieler, Reumann, Rittsteuer, Schützenhof, Seewinkelhof Salzl, Lehner, Triebaumer, Umathum & Zantho, Unger, Wellanschitz, Weninger und Wurzinger.
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