Ep 051: Austria

This week, it’s an episode near to my heart, since allegedly 25% of my family is from here: Austria. I tell an anecdote about traveling there as a dumb college student and “translating” some German. Then, after some great shoutouts (thank you for writing in and reviewing us on iTunes), we move on to the main topic. Since 70% of production is white, we first discuss the main grapes of Austria: Grüner Veltliner (Grooner Felt-LEAN-ah) and Riesling. We chat a bit about the reds of Austria: Zweigelt (SFY-Gelt), Blaufrankish, and St. Laurent. Then we cover the regions. We talk about Vienna and the three super high quality regions of Kremstal, Kamptal, and Wachau (along with it’s classifications of dry whites: Steinfeder, Federspiel, Smargd) We touch on the classification system of wines and what it means — Landwein, Tafelwein, Qualitatswein, and Pradikat. Then we touch on the slightly scandalous, tabloid history of Austria. From the Romans, to Charl [...]