Austria
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Austria 3 - Kellargasse, Lake Neusiedl and Dinner at a Buschenshank
Monday, May 23, 2016Me! In words
Day 3 of my trip to the Austrian Wine Summit (Day 1 and Day 2) saw us leave the Arte Krems hotel and head out to experience a Kellargasse - cellar street in Wagram. This excerpt is the basic concept of a Kellargasse and is from my article on Austrian wines that appeared in the Food Lovers Magazine
In many Austrian wine-growing regions, traditional wine cellars are situated outside town centres. These villages have multi-storeyed homes without chimneys spread over long distances. They are described as Kellerbergs or cellar hills. These are made up of a press house, (Kellarhals) and underground tunnels that are often interlinked through a labyrinth of passageways. These are small wineries, with vineyards that have no discernable boundaries except those adhered to in good faith. The most famous Austrian Kellergassen are in the Weinviertel, on the Wagram, in the wine-growing region of Carnuntum and in the Burgenland. These little vineyards provide a more intimate experience of wine.
At the Kellargasse, Feuersbrunn am Wagram, I found out that vintners have adopted an interesting project since 2014. To keep bugs from depositing larvae on the vines, vintners now tie a red ribbon, soaked in pheromones at regular intervals in the vineyard. While these work at attracting male butterflies, the lack of a female repels them and prevents larval deposits. The pheromones have been scientifically tested to ensure that they do not harm crops in any way. The success of this project has been phenomenal and now more and more vintners are participating in the project.
The great part about this experience is that you can take picturesque walk down the street, stop at a small family-run boutique wine outlet of your choice, interact with the vintners, understand their crop and grape treatment and then indulge in some great wines. An experience that you would definitely want wine tour or not!
The vineyard overlooking an outlet on the Kellargasse
The Outlet by Franz Anton Mayer
A look at the inside of the outlet
At the Kellargasse, Feuersbrunn am Wagram, I found out that vintners have adopted an interesting project since 2014. To keep bugs from depositing larvae on the vines, vintners now tie a red ribbon, soaked in pheromones at regular intervals in the vineyard. While these work at attracting male butterflies, the lack of a female repels them and prevents larval deposits. The pheromones have been scientifically tested to ensure that they do not harm crops in any way. The success of this project has been phenomenal and now more and more vintners are participating in the project.
The great part about this experience is that you can take picturesque walk down the street, stop at a small family-run boutique wine outlet of your choice, interact with the vintners, understand their crop and grape treatment and then indulge in some great wines. An experience that you would definitely want wine tour or not!
A healthy grape leaf is always 5-winged and this gorgeous. For more pictures on the Kellargasse experience click on the images above
My main course medium-done beef filet that was placed on a vegetable risotto with a
Pinot Noir 2012 by Judith Beck. Read the detailed post on the meal by clicking on the image above.
These beauties ferried us to the Lake Neusiedl
The Sparkling Wines we sampled
Buschenshank Seiler in Rust, Burgenland
Disclaimer: This trip to Austria was sponsored by AWB. The views expressed are personal and unbiased
Lunch was at the fabulous Press Haus in Burgenland. The area is famous for its seafood offerings considering its proximity to the Danube River. We had a specially curated wine paired meal put together by Bradley Knowles.
Press Haus in Burgenland
This meal was perfectly followed by a long drive to the National Park, a bird sanctuary, for the next session. But we didn't really get to go around the space and go bird watching. I satisfied myself with a few things from the curio shop.
Then came a nice horse carriage driven ride to Lake Neuseidl where we had another session of sparkling wine tasting. The ride was about an hour long, picturesque and stopped at a jetty that led to the Buschenshank, our final destination for the day.
This beautiful sky kept us company all through. I was amazed at the number of small wooden homes all around the lake. I believe its the little getaway people have for themselves when they want to kick back, relax, read or simply be on their own.
For more images on Lake Neusiedl, click on the image above.
For more images on Lake Neusiedl, click on the image above.
Our final stop for the day was for dinner at Buschenshank Seiler in Rust, Burgenland.Thoroughly tired and worn out, we had another wine tasting session followed by a meal of house cured meats and cheeses, along with pickles. Nothing substantial by even European standards for a meal and especially sad for the few vegetarians in the group that had to make do with pickles alone. But the place is beautiful and definitely warrants a return visit for the laidback atmosphere.
The house-cured meat platter that made dinner. For more pictures at Buschenshank, click on the image above
At the end of dinner we were taken to our hotel for the night, named after the place - Hotel Burgenland, Eisenstadst. A quick check in and it is with a lot of relief that I plonked into the bed in the room. The room was spacious and the bathtub most welcoming! Take a look at this video of the room.
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