THE WINES OF AUSTRIA

 

Touring the various wine regions from either the comfort of your armchair, around the shelves of the various supermarkets or actually visiting them has become increasingly popular over the years. New wines from new regions seem to appear almost all the time but wine expert Stephen Brook’s new book ‘The Wines of Austria’ take the reader, occasional taster or the true wine enthusiast on a guided exploration of one of the least known producers Austria.

Drawing on over forty years of wine expertise, Brook highlight’s the country’s reemergence and sudden increase in quality whilst taking the reader on an intimate experience of over three hundred vineyards and their wines. Explaining the geographical and climatic benefits whilst charting the history of each region, the book highlights how Austrian producers have combined traditional processes with modern viticulture techniques, the end result being some of the highest quality and most delicate wines currently available. 

Divided into parts then sub-chapters, Brook starts in Lower Austria then onto Burgenland, Steiermark and onto Vienna before moving onto the various vintages whilst describing the various styles and the different grape varieties. To aid those along for the journey various maps and diagrams help to explain exactly where each vineyard is located, the direction in which it faces along with family histories and ties along with relationship to others if any.

             

In addition there are a few colour plates of varying age and dubious quality which would have been far better if they’d been omitted and replaced by more detailed diagrams. However, there they are although they don’t detract in any way from Brook’s quality of writing and obvious knowledge and enthusiasm for his subject and the ideal addition to any wine buff’s library.

The Wines of Austria is published by Infinite Ideas, ISBN No: ISBN No: 978-1-908984-37-1 and costs £35. For further details visit www.infideas.com.

 

By; Mark Stone