Rath Heuriger

29 August 2010

Tonight we had the opportunity to visit a wine garden (heuriger), one of the most traditional and oldest in the area. The Rath Heuriger is 170 years old, and is located about an hour from our apartments in Vienna. When we arrived, the heuriger looked beautiful and quaint.

Located among crabapple trees and long green grass, picnic tables were scattered throughout and people were sitting amongst them drinking their specialty wine from mugs. Here they serve their current year's vintage - a white wine cuvee - and it is so popular that they are only open for a scant four weeks during the summer, when their supply runs out and they are forced to close for the year. They serve no formal food, but offer an array of various German sides - german potato salad, three spreads with brown bread, cheeses, and more. Is it the essence of the Viennese spirit - good company, good wine, and fresh air.

The history of wine in Austria is quite older than Rath itself. In 700 BC, vitis vinifera seeds (the most common wine grape varietal) were found in a Celtic grave, since Austria and Vienna were both inhabited by Celtic peoples before the region was conquered by the Romans. In the first century AD, the land of Pannonia was established, inhabited continuously by both Celtics and Romans. Emperor Marcus Aurelius lifted the prohibition placed on cultivating new vines, temporarily spiking an interest in winemaking. After this however, history was not kind to the wine industry and interest weakened. It wasn't until Charlemagne permitted vintners to serve young wine (that year's vintage) in Heurigen and introduced German varietals that an interest in wine was re-cultivated. The Cisterican order of monks cleared forest land and planted vines, controlling most of the region's wine production. Burgenland, south of Vienna, was granted extensive privileges by Mary the Hungarian queen in producing wine (wein-plus.com/austrian_guide/Burgenland). The Esterhazy family was an important patron of the wine trade, being the largest land owner in the Burgenland region - our visit to Eisenstadt a few weeks ago was full of posters for the local wine festival. After the golden age of wine growing in the region during the 1600's, phylloxera (an insect which attacks vitis vinifera grapes and is a recent problem in the Napa valley) struck Burgenland, leaving the region to adapt and become a region known for its white wines. Interestingly enough, Stift Klosterneuburg - home to our canon friends - is the oldest and largest working winery in Austria, having been established in the 1100's as a source of revenue for the monastery (travel.nytimes.com).

Claim to Fame - In 1756, Riedel Crystal was founded in Austria, and now produces some of the world's most famous and notable stemware. It was founded amidst the seven year's war between Austria and Bohemia and was part of the Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) period, making first glass window panes and later crystal glassware (crystalclassics.com).

Having been schooled in wine from my own dad and having participated in the wine culture before this trip, it was a priceless experience to be able to partake in such an integral aspect of Austrian hospitality and culture.

The wine was truly unbelievable and the conversation was even better - who would have ever thought that I would be sitting in an Austrian wine garden drinking and laughing late into the night with friends I had not known until this trip? How blessed I am.