In episode 164 of The Drinking Hour podcast, David Kermode heads to VieVinum to explore one of the great wine nations of Europe: Austria.
As part of his trip, Kermode is joined by Chris Yorke, head of Austrian Wine. Despite hailing from New Zealand, Yorke has an encyclopedic knowledge of Austrian wine culture and he and Kermode break down some of the grape varieties making world class wines in Austria. They explain why Vienna is one of the best wine tourism destinations in the world, with only an hour to drive from the city to reach more than 15 different wine regions, all with their own styles and expressions. Yorke and Kermode also discuss one of the ‘hidden treasures’ of Austrian wine culture, the Gemischter Satz, an innovative blend of grapes that have to be picked on the same day.
Finally, the pair talk about how Austrian wine has recovered from scandal in the 1980s through several shifts including focusing on a generation new to the industry and creating some of the toughest wine laws in the world to force producers to focus on creating high-quality wines.
Discover more episodes of The Drinking Hour with David Kermode here.
