My knuckles are white as I grip the handlebars tight and I am hanging my rear end out behind the bike seat to keep my weight back as far as possible as I hop from one stone-walled vineyard terrace down to the next. Thank goodness this is not the Wachau – the terraces are a little wider here in the Traisental!
Andreas Holzer, local vintner and my mountain bike guide in Traisental, stops to give me a chance to catch up with him. There is a delicate aroma of apple in the air and I look up to see an apple tree, its ripening fruit blushing in the late afternoon sun. Andreas points to vines around us and says, “In no other Austrian wine-growing area does Grüner Veltliner represent such a large proportion of territory. It makes up 63% of the Traisental vineyards. We are now standing in the Alte Setzen Vineyard from Markus Huber. He makes one of the region’s – no, one of the world’s – top Grüner Veltliners every year and has done much to raise the region’s profile.”
Really? Who in the world knows about Traisental? And why are the wines here so good and so inexpensive?
Pedalling through the Traisental terrain, I notice the landscape so typical for the wine growing areas along the Danube River west of Vienna. Many of the vineyards are terraced on hillsides, usually not quite as steep as the Wachau and thus the terraces are broader with several rows. Andreas points out the loess, decomposed material that has been deposited by the wind. “See these huge walls of loess on the side of the road? Sometimes it is several meters deep. But look ahead, do you see that vineyard? There is nearly no loess at all; the conglomerate base is completely exposed.” The Danube and Traisen Rivers function as climate regulators ensuring the circulation of warm air masses coming in from the Pannonian Plains to the east and the cold air from the deep forest district to the north. These are the perfect conditions for white wine varieties, in particular Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. It is quieter here and there is far less tourism than along other parts of the Danube, lending the area a peaceful and wholesome charm.
Wine is a cultural product with an identity that is rooted in climate, soil, and topography. Despite this, the Traisental appellation corresponds to a political border rather than to geological and meteorological attributes. The Traisental DAC corresponds exactly with the boundaries of the “Gerichtsbezirk St. Pölten Nord”. With a beginning metamorphosis of Austrian wine laws evolving from categories based on grape sugar content to wine laws based on geographical origins, one hopes that Austrian wine will eventually throw those political borders overboard. Andreas admits as much when he says, “Our soils are predominantly limestone conglomerate with loess top soil – perfect for Grüner Veltliner. The sites with little or no loess and less limestone are ideal for Riesling. I agree that the part of the Kremstal DAC that is south of the Danube River has more in common with Traisental than the part of the Kremstal to the north!” The DAC idea is based on establishing a geographic region of origin and identity that can be easily recognized by international consumers as a brand. With only 800 hectares of vineyards, Traisental remains a hidden secret. Despite this, in its short existence since 2006, the Traisental DAC is indeed contributing positively to the tiny region’s wine identity.
Grapes and wine have historically been one of the products of mixed agricultural farms in Traisental, and in all of eastern Austria for that matter. Only in the last two generations has one begun to see a shift to specialist production. The vineyard holding of a winery is still only two hectares. Despite their small size, Traisental wine producers have often had several different grape varieties and produce up to 30 different wines each vintage. The reason for this was to satisfy the demands of customers at the farm’s heuriger (wine tavern) where a significant portion of a farm’s products have traditionally been sold and consumed. This fractured structure has been both the charm and the curse of Traisental.
The Traisental DAC, established in 2006, recognizes Riesling and Grüner Veltliner as the best of what the Traisental has to offer. Wines from this geographic origin are single varietal wines that can be made from either variety and bottled either as “Classic” or as “Reserve”. No flavours of new oak or botrytis notes are allowed in either style. The “Classic” must show clear, crisp varietal character and have a minimum of 12% alcohol. The “Reserve” is harvested later and is more powerful and mineral with a minimum of 13% alcohol. This clearly defined concept is encouraging producers to concentrate on what is best suited to the region and international red wine varieties and other misfits are slowly being abandoned to fulfil the domestic demand for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling under the DAC labels.
If you take a look at a topographical and metrological map of Austria’s wine regions, one can see that the wine growing areas along the Danube from Krems to the borders of Vienna exhibit strong similarities. The top quality wines from Kremstal, Kamptal, Traisental and Wagram are all from Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. Crystal clear varietal character as a voice, an amplifier, for terroir is sought. The use of new oak or inclusion of botrytized grapes to enhance flavour is frowned upon as short-term cosmetic that disguise terroir and do not contribute to longevity.
“Berg” vineyard at the (c)Markus Huber Winery
Andreas and I arrive at our destination the Donau Restaurant in Traismauer. This is a favourite of him and his young vintner colleagues because it is located directly on the river and has a large, pleasant outdoor eating area and a perfect room indoors for seminars, tastings and wine presentations. While dining on local fish specialties, Andreas presents several wines from various Traisental wineries. “For a long time, the only vintner that exported and was known outside of Traisental was Ludwig Neumayr. He can really be considered the father of high quality wines of international format in our region. But then along came Markus Huber, a very young vintner, and he has shown us all what can be done if you make no compromises and concentrate on the great terroir that we have in Traisental. He has really become a source of inspiration for the new generation of vintners here.”
Ludwig Neumayr and Markus Huber are both members of the vintner association Traditionsweingüter. The association includes many of the elite wineries of the winegrowing regions Kremstal, Kamptal, Traisental and Wagram. For two decades, they have been working on a classification of vineyards based on long-term performance of these regions’ wines. The top 52 vineyards are called “Erste Lage”. The classification system does not yet hold any legal status nor has it been analyzed and approved by an official third party. Despite this, it does show visionary qualities. Austrian wines have been classified in the past by their grape sugar must content instead of origin. The DAC system is just in its early stages and will still evolve. Seen not only from a geological and meteorological standpoint, but culturally and from international marketing view, it would make sense to join these four political districts into one wine appellation and within that appellation make differentiations according to single vineyards.
Hedgehog cleaning the Donau Restaurant terrace at dusk (c)julia7ich
Fisher at sunset in Traisental (c)Julia7ich
As the sun sets we see a fisherman silhouetted against the river and a small hedgehog meanders over the terrace nibbling crumbs under the tables. I enjoy the peaceful idyll after a day of rock hopping on my bike through the Traisental. This secret place off the beaten track is home to untouched wine gems at very drinkable prices!