THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The Weinviertel - Austria's most extensive wine growing region, with more than 15,000 hectares - is the perfect place to discover culinary delights with wine. There are numerous bikeways and walking paths which pass charming towns, quaint villages and dramatic castles. Perhaps the most definitive symbols of the "wine quarter" are the "Kellergassen", the lovely streets lined with cellars resembling small, stuccoed houses. The grapes pressed in them are mostly Grüner Veltliner.

The centre of the western Weinviertel is Retz, a 700-year-old wine town rich in loam and marl soils. Underneath Retz are ancient carved wine cellars over 26 kilometres long; together with the town's historic buildings, these make an exceptional visit. Other centres for wine-making in the western Weinviertel are Pulkautal, Mailberg, Röschitz and the area around Hollabrunn and Hohenwarth.

The Pulkautal valley, south of Retz, lines the river that bears its name, and includes the red wine areas of Haugsdorf and Jetzelsdorf. The Mailberg area, surrounded by rolling hills and the Mailberg castle, is known for its noble wines. After a visit to the sleepy medieval town of Eggenburg, a side-trip to Röschitz will prove pleasurable: its sandy loam, loess and potassium-rich soils produce particularly crisp, fruity white wines.

In Schrattenthal, near the medieval fortifications of the defense chapel, are the red and white grapevines cultivated in a Mediterraneanesque climate. Found in the eastern Weinviertel are the wine centres Poysdorf, Herrnbaumgarten, Falkenstein, Mistelbach, Zistersdorf, Matzen, Wolkersdorf and Korneuburg. Located on the southern slopes of the Falkensteiner hills, Poysdorf is one of Austria's most picturesque wine towns, and has vast amounts of land for growing the treasured Grüner Veltliner. Also here is the base wine for Austria's traditional sparkling wines, whose producers are located mostly in Vienna. Nessled in the Mühlbach valley surrounded by wooded hills is the 900-year-old wine village, Falkenstein. Its romantic "Kellergassen" are alluring - all tributes to the culture of the pressing house.

Nearby is the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Weinviertel: Mistelbach. The area's "Buschenschenken", taverns owned by wine-makers who serve their own food and wine, offer the opportunity to taste the various regional wines. The Matzener hills represent another special area for wine. Divided by the Matzener woods, the northern hills produce fresh, fizzy wines; whereas the south's wines tend to be full and flowery. Around Wolkersdorf (OUR NECK OF THE WOODS) is the fertile Marchfeld, where the dry climate is conducive to the healthy growth of Grüner Veltliner, Welschriesling, Blauer Burgunder and Zweigelt.

Just outside Vienna is the town of Korneuburg and its surroundings. Dominated by the Grüner Veltliner, the wines here are light and sparkling with fragrant bouquets.

WE ARE INTRODUCING THE FOLLOWING WINES IN THE USA

GRÜNER VELTLINER 2002 - Kabinett
12,0 Vol.%, 3,2g/l RZ, 6,7g Säure
a fresh young appearance in the nose, peppery spicyness on the palate, racy powerful acidity

WEINVIERTEL D.A.C. GRÜNER VELTLINER 2002 - Ried Breitenlus
12,5 Vol.%, 1,2g/l RZ, 6,0g/l Säure
a rich bouquet of ripe apples, plenty of Veltliner nuance (peppery),
delicate fruit nuances and balanced at the finish

2nd Place at the Austrian Veltliner tasting by Falstaff

NEUBURGER 2002
13,0 Vol.%, 3,9g/l RZ, 7,6g/l Säure
Delicate almond notes in the nose, opulent and rich dried fruit aromas on the palateromen, finessed mineralic notes at the finish - perfect for cheese.

www.wein-diem.at

www.wein-diem.at