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.
Following a visit of Weingut Anita and Hans Nittnaus, Burgenland, with Anita, Hans and Martin Nittnaus:
Cellar Tour and Tasting at Weingut Anita and Hans Nittnaus, Burgenland, with Anita, Hans and Martin Nittnaus - Austria 2023 by ombiasy WineTours
we went to another big name in Austrian wine: Weingut Umathum, Frauenkirchen, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee.
Legendary owner/ winemaker Joseph Umathum was our host. We took a tour of the tank cellar, the barrel cellar and the vineyard before sitting down in the tasting room for a tasting of 11 wines.
The wines of Weingut Umathum are available in the USA through Winemonger.
Weingut Umathum, Frauenkirchen, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee
In
the 18 th century, ancestors of the Umathum family settled at the
Neusiedlersee and created a mixed farming estate where they also
produced wine. It was only in 1985 that Josef Umathum focused entirely
on winemaking and Weingut Umathum has since then become one of Austria’s
top notch wine producing estates with 150 acres of vineyards, farmed
biodynamically.
The majority of vineyards are located in the northern Seewinkel community of Frauenkirchen on the eastern side of the Neusiedlersee; some vineyards are also across the lake in Jois, in the Leithaberg region.
Josef Umathum favors the traditional Austrian grape varieties: Zweigelt, St. Laurent, and Blaufränkisch account for 85% of his plantations. The rest of his vineyards are planted with the traditional Welschriesling, Roter Traminer, and Gelber Traminer.
Winemonger - Josef "Pepi" Umathum
Josef "Pepi" Umathum is one of Austria's best-known producers. In the Burgenland growing district called Neusiedlersee (Lake Neusiedl), he counts as one of the great champions of the traditional Austrian grape varieties: Zweigelt, St Laurent and Blaufränkisch account for 85% of his plantations, while Welschriesling, Roter Traminer, extremely rare Gelber Traminer, and the unusual ancient Lindenblättriger round them out.
Umathum farms sixty hectares, mostly in the Seewinkel community of Frauenkirchen, but also across the lake in Jois. His vineyards exhibit varied soils —limestone, loam, slate and silicates—which are planted to the most appropriate varieties. Umathum's most renowned parcels are the vineyards Hallebühl, Vom Stein and Haideboden in Frauenkirchen. In Jois, Josef has planted his pinot noir under the terraces walled with volcanic stone, ancient terraced vineyards that Umathum has painstakingly restored and planted with Blaufänkisch, which also favors this specific minerality in a most expressive manner. These terraced vineyards are quite unique for Burgenland— among those traditionally most highly prized, they were first officially mentioned in the year 1214 as property of the Hungarian royal house.
Umathum has embraced the intricacies and harmonies of biodynamic viticulture, and for most of his wines— all hand-harvested— prefers to use large barrels of native Austrian oak, which underscores the clear fruit aromatics of the wines. Some of the high-toned single vineyard bottlings are matured in smaller oak barrels and barriques, and are first released three years after the vintage. Years of experience drinking Burgenland reds have taught us that Pepi Umathum's entry-level Zweigelt is second to none.
Wine Enthusiast: Josef Umathum, Weingut Umathum, Burgenland
“It is so important to have a view from outside,” says Umathum, who grew up in a winemaking family. When he was younger, he planned to leave it all behind, studying geography with an eye toward a different career.
“Stewing in your own juices is not good,” he says.
It was at university in the early 1980s that he encountered alternative farming. After stints in Germany, Burgundy, Provence and Bordeaux, he changed his mind. Umathum returned home to his family’s estate and implemented biodynamics.
This was in 1985, just after the devastating scandal when it was revealed that the toxic substance diethylene glycol was added to Austrian wines to make them taste more appealing. The country’s domestic and international wine markets had collapsed.
“There was this idea that there could be a different way,” he says. “I knew nothing about biodynamics.”
So, he went to lectures and started to read about it. Initially, it all seemed “mystical,” he says.
“But, above all, you learn to observe,” he says. “This is decisive. You look at nature with different eyes. The early years were hard. The vines needed to adapt. It takes a while for the inner forces of the plants to become effective.”
It took a lot to convince his vineyard crew and convert them to this way of farming. Now, after 35 years of alternative farming, he says biodynamics are “about more than making wine, more than agriculture. There is depth. Taking part, observing, understanding correlations. That is important. This is a source of strength and the beauty.
“For me, it is a real enrichment. You may ask if the wines are
better. But in reality, the question is, are you tasting the wines
differently now? The most important thing is to change as a person, to
change your view of nature. It is about being human as a whole, not just
about farming.”
Arriving
Tour of the tank Cellar
In the Vineyard
Tour of the Barrel Cellar
Tasting
Bye-bye
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
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