-The Centrepiece-
Prior to WWI, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was the second largest and third most populous country in Europe, and Vienna was indisputably the capital of Mitteleuropa. The imperial days might be long gone, but the legacy lives on. Since joining the EU in 1995 – it was necessarily upheld by a referendum in 1994, as Austria had declared permanent neutrality in 1955 – Austria has played an important role in the EU’s approach eastward.
Whilst Austrian wine continues to reach new heights, Vienna – adding to its untouchable status as the city of music – has become the wine hub of Central Europe, in part owing to the inception of VieVinum in 1998. The biennial fair, this year in its 10th edition, initially aimed to become the prime exhibition for Austrian wine and vintners. Judging by results some 18 years since, it has beaten the benchmark by a big margin – VieVinum is now the largest and most important wine fair of not only Austria, but also Central Europe.
From 4th to 6th June 2016, the 10th edition of VieVinum was held at the Hofburg Palace, previously the imperial residence of the Habsburg monarchs and currently the official residence of the President of the Republic of Austria. Just under 600 exhibitors from Austria, Germany, the Old World, “New Europe” – i.e. Eastern European countries previously under the Iron Curtain – and the New World attended, as did more than 15,000 visitors from around the world, as well as influential wine publications such as A la Carte, Falstaff and Vinum.
-Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB)-
Established in 1986, the Vienna-based AWMB is the national service body for Austrian wine. In addition to strategic support for quality improvement and sales initiatives in Austria, the AWMB maintains a portfolio of marketing and advertising activities tailored to each export market. Providing comprehensive information about Austrian wine, the AWMB website (www.austrianwine.com) is particularly noteworthy.
Led by Managing Director Wilhelm Klinger, AWMB’s admirably dedicated and thoroughly professional team was responsible for welcoming international guests. Honoured to be invited, MACAU CLOSER had the unique opportunity to sample through countless wines in the palatial environment of the Hofburg Palace. Apart from the VieVinum, the AWMB organised a series of first-class events, combining the finest of Austrian wine, tradition and culture.
-Viticulture and Wine Culture-
Like classical music and opera, Austrian elegance is irrepressible and permeates just about anything. Differing from the Latin interpretation of the concept, the Austrian style incorporates Germanic precision, a kaleidoscope of influences from Mitteleuropa and a dash of gallant magnificence.
Two nights before the fair, guests were invited to a wine and music soirée at a Heuriger in the Viennese suburb. Listed in 2011 as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Viennese coffee houses are celebrated the world over; lesser known is the fact that Vienna is one of the few capitals in Europe which has vineyards and wine production with its city boundaries.
A Heuriger (literally: [one of] this year) is a traditional Austrian tavern which serves its own wines with homemade food, a practice dating back to Joseph II’s imperial decree in 1784 (yes, that was when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was still alive). A Heuriger almost invariably has a pair of Heurigensänger (literally: Heuriger singer) who, equipped with violin, guitar and accordion, would waltz around performing traditional tunes at tables. The German word Gemütlichkeit (meaning congeniality, coziness and wellbeing) is for long known to be untranslatable, and it is vividly perceivable.
One day before the fair, guests were invited to the Great Salon Vertical 1988-2009 tasting at Palais Niederösterreich. Formerly known as Niederösterreichisches Landeshaus, Palais Niederösterreich has housed important state institutions in the last two centuries, notably as the centre of the ill-fated revolutionaries during the Revolutions of 1848 that swept across the European Continent. Formal tastings in Austria, it seems, is never without historical heritage.
Created in 1988, Salon Wine is a prestigious title awarded yearly to just 265 Austrian wines out of more than 7,000 entries through competition and evaluation. Showcasing a wide range of regions, grape varieties, styles and vintages, the tasting was thus an exceptional, indeed enlightening, experience for wine professionals, and it clearly demonstrated the often overlooked fact that Austrian wines are highly ageworthy.
-Present and Future-
Austria has for decades been at the forefront of sustainable viticulture, which has been embraced by no less than 83% of all vineyards in Austria.
-At the entry level, integrated viticulture stipulates the implementation of all sustainable methods to keep ecological footprint to a minimum. Qualified wines bear the “Certified Sustainable Austria” logo.
-One level up, organic viticulture proscribes the use of anything artificial, chemical or synthetic, be it fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides. From 2008 to 2013 alone, organic viticulture has seen a 50% increase in Austria. Qualified wines bear the “EU Organic” logo.
-Lateral to organic viticulture, biodynamic viticulture prescribes an augmentation of the organic method of production through species-rich crop rotation and animal husbandry as crop-fortifying treatments, all of which must be of natural origin. Qualified wines often, but not always, bear the “Demeter Biodynamic” logo.
