Fine Wines from Austria: A Curated Embassy Tasting with Klaus Wittauer

Our visit to the Austrian Embassy during the EU Open House began with a seminar titled Fine Wines from Austria, led by Klaus Wittauer of KWSelection and hosted by Decanter Wine Boutique. Over the course of tasting nine curated wines, Wittauer guided the room through Austria’s landscapes, grape varieties, and producers with an ease that comes only from long familiarity. His commentary blended regional insight, stylistic context, and personal stories from each winery, turning the seminar into a compact tour of Austria’s wine culture. By the end, the experience felt less like an introduction and more like an invitation—one that makes you want to book a flight and continue the exploration firsthand.

The Steininger Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé 2025 comes from Weingut Steininger, a family‑run estate in Langenlois in the Kamptal region of Lower Austria, an area known for its cool nights, loess soils, and a long tradition of precise, aromatic winemaking. While Cabernet Sauvignon is not the dominant red grape of Kamptal - or even Austria, Steininger has built a reputation for crafting focused, elegant rosé from this international variety. Cabernet Sauvignon’s naturally thick skins and structured tannins soften beautifully when handled gently, producing a rosé with crisp red‑berry fruit, subtle herbal tones, and a refreshing mineral backbone. The wine reflects Kamptal’s ability to translate even non‑native grapes into expressions of clarity and finesse, shaped by the region’s diurnal shifts and limestone‑influenced soils.

The Paul Dired­er Gemischter Satz 2025 represents one of Austria’s most historic wine styles: a true field blend harvested and fermented together. Paul Dired­er, based in the Wagram region, works with traditional mixed plantings that include varieties such as Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc), Müller‑Thurgau, Fruhroter Veltliner, and others depending on the vineyard. Wagram’s deep loess soils give these blends a signature texture—round, lightly creamy, yet still lifted by bright acidity. Gemischter Satz is prized for its layered aromatics and natural balance, and Dired­er’s version captures the charm of the style: orchard fruit, white flowers, citrus, subtle spice, and a seamless palate. 

The Steininger Ried Loisium Grüner Veltliner 2024 Kamptal DAC Reserve comes from a single vineyard adjacent to the LOISIUM wine center in Langenlois, where Grüner Veltliner thrives on a mix of primary rock and loess. Steininger is widely respected for its precise, terroir‑driven expressions of Grüner, and the Loisium site produces a particularly vibrant style. Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s flagship white grape, shows its classic traits here: white pepper, citrus, green apple, and a clean mineral line. The vineyard’s exposure and soil composition give the wine both freshness and depth, making it a benchmark example of Kamptal’s ability to produce Grüner with structure, tension, and longevity.

The Steininger Ried Kittmannsberg Grüner Veltliner 10WT Erste Lage 2023 offers a contrasting expression from another of the estate’s important single vineyards. Kittmannsberg sits slightly higher and benefits from cooler airflow, producing a Grüner Veltliner with more concentration and a deeper, more textural mid‑palate. The soils here—loess over ancient bedrock—allow Grüner to develop ripeness without losing acidity. The wine often shows richer notes of stone fruit, subtle smokiness, and a more pronounced peppery finish. It is a study in how site variation within Kamptal can shape the same grape into distinct personalities, each with its own sense of place.

The Heinrich Hartl Rotgipfler Gumpoldskirchen Thermenregion 2023 highlights one of Austria’s rarest and most regionally specific grapes. Rotgipfler is native to the Thermenregion, south of Vienna, where limestone‑rich soils and warm breezes from the Pannonian plain create ideal conditions for this aromatic, full‑bodied white variety. Heinrich Hartl is known for championing local grapes such as Rotgipfler and Zierfandler, producing wines that balance richness with precision. Rotgipfler typically shows ripe tropical fruit, floral notes, and a distinctive creamy texture supported by lively acidity. Hartl’s version captures the grape’s natural generosity while maintaining elegance, making it a standout example of a variety found almost nowhere else in the world.

The Ruttenstock Riesling Alte Reben 2023 is a blend of Himmelreich and Steinleiten fruit that comes from the Kremstal region, where Riesling thrives on steep terraces of primary rock and gravel. Weingut Ruttenstock is a family estate that focuses on clean, expressive white wines shaped by the region’s cool climate and stony soils. Riesling from Kremstal tends to be taut, aromatic, and mineral‑driven, and Ruttenstock’s bottling reflects these traits with notes of citrus, peach, and crystalline acidity. The wine’s structure and purity speak to the region’s ability to produce Rieslings that offer both approachability and aging potential.

The Paul Dired­er Zweigelt 2024 is a classic, easy‑drinking expression of Austria’s most widely planted red grape. Zweigelt, a crossing of Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent, is known for its juicy cherry fruit, soft tannins, and versatility. Dired­er’s version, bottled in a generous one‑liter format, emphasizes freshness and drinkability—an everyday wine meant for the table. Wagram’s loess soils give the wine a round, supple texture, while the grape’s natural vibrancy keeps it lively. It is a straightforward but well‑crafted example of why Zweigelt remains a staple of Austrian red wine culture.

The Steindorfer Apetlon Rouge 2022 comes from the village of Apetlon in Burgenland, near Lake Neusiedl, where warm temperatures and sandy soils create ideal conditions for red blends. Weingut Steindorfer is known for producing expressive wines that highlight the region’s ripeness and sun‑driven character. This Apetlon Rouge vintage is a blend of 40% Blaufränkisch, 30% St. Laurent, and 30%vZweigeltv-- crafted into a smooth, fruit‑forward style. The wine shows dark berries, gentle spice, and soft tannins, reflecting Burgenland’s reputation for approachable yet flavorful reds shaped by the lake’s moderating influence.

The Heinrich Hartl Ried Kräutergarten Pinot Noir Thermenregion DAC 2021 showcases the Thermenregion’s growing reputation for cool‑climate red wines. The Kräutergarten vineyard, with its limestone soils and favorable exposure, allows Pinot Noir to ripen slowly, developing aromatic complexity without losing freshness. Hartl’s approach emphasizes finesse and purity, producing a Pinot Noir with red cherry, forest floor, and subtle herbal notes—true to both the grape and the site. The wine demonstrates how the Thermenregion, once known primarily for white varieties, has become a source of elegant, Burgundian‑styled reds shaped by its unique geology and microclimate.

Stay Connected with Virtual Chats During the CV Lockdown

We are living in interesting times, unable to frequent our favorite craft beverage establishments or explore various regions.  Fortunately, wine, beer, and liquor stores are considered essential services and combined with discounted shipping rates are supplying our beverage needs. In order to stay connected with existing customers and to seek new consumers, craft beverage producers, importers, and retail shops are conducting virtual tastings.  The chats that I have participated in have been extremely informative, even when not indulging in the targeted beverage. And if you cannot participate live, most of these tastings are available via playback - so enjoy at your leisure. Here is a short list of sessions where I have either participated or received an email notification. Cheers.

On Tuesday nights at 8pm EST, Mirena and Win Burke have been hosting a Croatian Wine Chat at Croatian Premium Wine Imports which feature wines from the Komarna Appellation. In the first two episodes, they have interviewed Decanter judge and Croatian sommelier Siniša Lasan as well as winemakers Josip Volarević and Marko Suman. Each week they will focus on one or two wines in their portfolio available at their Online Store.

Similarly, Taste Hungary, which normally provides a quarterly wine club, has augmented that service with weekly virtual chats on Saturday evenings at 7pm EST. This coming Saturday, April 4th owner Gábor Bánfalvi is presenting Wines from Tokaj with future chats featuring Wines from Eger and Wines from the Heumann Winery in Villány. The wines for these tastings are available as part of various mixed 6-Packs, with free delivery on purchases of 6 bottles or more in the DC metro area, within 40 miles of DC (use promo code: DMV-FREE). They are also providing free delivery on the first shipment of a Wine Club subscription (use promo code: DMV-FREE1) and $10 shipping to all other states (except Alaska), for purchases of 6 bottles or more.

Several wine producers are also conducting virtual chats. In Virginia, Early Mountain Vineyards hosts several virtual presentations such as Friday, April 3rds Vineyard Tour with Dustin Wade, Vineyard Manager at 3:30pm EST.  Through their online store, they are offering free shipping for any orders of 3+ bottles -- combined with a 10% discount for any 6+ bottle order.  In Santa Barbara County, California, Solminer Wine Company is hosting weekly Saturday afternoon Taste Together virtual chats (3:30pm EST). Also in California, on Sunday afternoons (4pm PST) Kendall-Jackson's Winemaster Randy Ullom leads a tasting and discussion of their wines alongside various culinary pairings.

For distilleries, Seattle's Westland Distillery is hosting a tasting experience featuring their core whiskeys (American Oak, Sherry Wood, and Peated) starting Friday, April 3rd at 4pm PST. In Iowa, Mississippi River Distilling Co. is allowing consumers to plan their own virtual tasting with the distillery offering cocktail recipes and on the night of the tasting, they’ll walk the guests through the distillery.

For cideries, Richmond's Blue Bee Cider hosts their FireCider Chat Virtual Tastings on Thursday evenings at 7pm EST which should be very engaging to consumers not familiar with the cider industry or heirloom cider apples.

And continuing with the Commonwealth, let's not forget Frank Morgan's Virtual Virginia Wine Chats which we mentioned in Open That Bottle of Virginia (or Local) Wine Night. The Open That Bottle of Virginia Wine Night on March 28th received more than 4,000 views.

Retail outlets are also using the virtual mode of communication. In DC, the popular wine store DCanter - A Wine Boutique is hosting Friday evening Sips -- virtual wine classes at 6pm EST that "tackle a different wine topic that you can easily follow along at home with or without wine".

Update (4/2/2020) - Paso Robles Wine Country has compiled a list of twenty Virtual Experiences within their appellation. The same is true for the Idaho Wine Commission (pdf).