It was a fashion, even a competition, between top New York Sommeliers, not long ago, to see who had more GrünerVeltliner’s on his list. Ever since we did that fantastic flight of 4 GrünerVeltliner’s at our Lagan nu Bonu dinner a few years ago, many of us have been fascinated by Austrian wines.
And when my friend Al Czipin from Vienna offered to unlock the many mysteries of Austrian wines, I had the theme for my Presidents dinner for the year! Al is a great collector and expert on European wines. I have enjoyed many exceptional wine dinners at his home in Vienna. He has put together a selection that is both eclectic and extensive.
His wife Brigitte, who is an excellent cook, will present some classic Viennese dishes for us. To demonstrate the aromatics and richness of many Austrian varietals to pair well with Indian spice, we will also have Lucknavi courses by Mukhtar Qureshi of the legendary family of cooks from Lucknow who is now at the Neel (at Tote, Mahalaxmi).
Brigitte is an Opera singer as well, and to begin the evening she will sing a few delightful Austrian / German songs.
An aperitif flight will see us discover a less know varietal from Austria in the GelberMuskateller, fresh and aromatic, perfect for aperitif along with Sauvignon Blanc from the Südsteiermark, in Austria’s own signature style for this varietal, rich, almost unctuous.
The GrünerVeltliner flight will allow 3 of the icons of the Wachau region, one of the most intricately mapped wine regions in the world, to prove their terroiral diversity from 3 distinctive plots.
Amongst the red flights will be one dedicated to discovering the Blaufränkisch grape through their top producers, Moric, Weninger and Triebaumer. There is one flight of the fabulous Rieslings that the Austrian’s are rightly proud of. Lastly a flight of the famous dessert wines from Kracher, the Kaiser of them all, and Tschida, the young challenger will complete the flights.
Please view the full announcement and menu here.