VieVinum 2024 Report

VieVinum is a bit like the Vinitaly of Austria, hosted in the splendid setting of the Viennese imperial palace, the Hofburg (where the Falstaff Schaumweinfestival did not take place). Here, all (or almost all, given the absence of Kracher) the most important Austrian producers gather, along with medium and small ones. It’s an occasion not to be missed, regardless of which side of the tasting table you find yourself on.

My wife and I, leaving our daughter with her grandmother, attended. The ticket price for the public is accessible but may seem disproportionate: €70. However, it’s important to contextualize. You don’t go to VieVinum to truly taste the wines; expecting something like that is like expecting to read an entire book in a bookstore. No, you go to get an idea of what the various exhibitors offer, to be intrigued by some wines that you might purchase, and to have a laugh observing the other visitors.

The Importance of the First Producer

As always at these events, it’s good to prepare an action plan, identifying a series of producers to visit so as not to get lost in the crowd. All plans will fall apart along the way, but we start determined, also because the venue is vast: just to reach the coat check, you have to pass through about forty exhibitors.

Loimer

We start with Loimer, the standard-bearer of Kamptal, which had impressed me so much during the last visit to Wein & Co. We are rather disappointed. The Gumpoldskirchen Grosse Reserve Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature is creamy with autolytic notes, but the perlage is weak and scattered, and the palate is too fruity to be captivating. Better, but not exceptional, is the Ried Heiligenstein Riesling 2021: it has the fleshiness of nectarine peach, but the acidity is bracing. Probably this wine still needs some time.

Wachau, Lost in Chaos

Caught up in the bulimia of the first stages, when the mouth is not yet tired and there are many rooms to explore, we decide to abandon Kamptal: after all, we already know it better than many other areas. So, we move to the beautiful room dedicated to Wachau, certainly the most prestigious area in the Austrian wine panorama. So prestigious that producers rarely venture to Vienna, being able to wait for the consumer in their own estates.

The environment, as suggestive as it may be, is not suitable for this kind of wines. These wines express their best after a few years in the bottle (and here they are all vintage, obviously) and require time and patience even in tasting, not a merchants’ frame in the Temple.

Alzinger

However, Alzinger made an excellent impression, offering some of the most inviting prices in expensive Wachau, with wines of excellent quality. The Federspiel Mühlpoint Grüner Veltliner 2023 turned out to be good and juicy, with notes of apple and mango. Even better, as expected given the higher quality level, the Smaragd Loibenberg Riesling 2023: complex, with many profiles and deep, although not unforgettable.

Prager

I was curious to deepen my knowledge of Prager, whose booth also offered some nice and somewhat ’90s-themed wine stickers. The name is important, and the wines do not disappoint. The Achleiten Stockkultur Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2023 is the epitome of Wachau: there are apple, rock, and splendid salinity. Also good, though not exceptional, is the Wachstum Bodenstein Grüner Veltliner 2023, which will probably benefit from a few years in the cellar. Unexpectedly floral and pleasantly citrusy is the Ried Klaus Riesling Smaragd 2023.

Kartäuserhof

A few words about my wife, who doesn’t like Wachau, finding it too expensive, and she’s a very empathetic person. At VieVinum, I discovered that the second characteristic outweighs the first. Kartäuserhof, a name unknown to me, was Prager’s booth neighbor. Confused, we approached them, thinking they were the well-known neighbor. Realizing the mistake, I moved away; my wife, however, feeling sorry for having misled the momentarily unemployed producer, stopped to taste at least one wine. Besides Jackie’s big heart, the Ried Achleiten Grüner Veltliner 2023 also made a great impression on me: juicy and well-structured, with notes of passion fruit.

Martin Muthenthaler

Martin Muthenthaler also made a good impression, surrounded by some drunk visitors already in the early afternoon upon our arrival, he cordially gestured for us to approach, and, besides his classic Austrian outfit (those who know Austria know that what to our eyes are traditional clothes, to Austrian eyes are just clothes), we were able to examine the Grüner Veltliner Ried Schön 2022, a good juicy wine, but it seems to have less personality and gas in the tank than other Wachau’s wines.

F.X. Pichler

The Wachau producer who impressed me the most was certainly the heretic F.X. Pichler. Heretic because he recently withdrew from the Vinea Wachau, the association of DAC producers. This means that his wines do not follow the classic Steinfeder, Federspiel, and Smaragd taxonomy. No matter, they are still excellent. Starting with the 2023 Dürnsteiner Grüner Veltliner, saline, acidic, and precise as only Wachau wines can be. Taut in a very attractive way. More substantial and juicy but still excellent were the Loibner Ried Loibenberg Grüner Veltliner 2023, as well as the Loibner Ried Burgstall Riesling 2023, which skillfully plays between acidic and fruity poles. The Ried Loibenberg Riesling 2023, also excellent, closed the lineup. What consistency this producer has!

For other great Rieslings, check out our comparison between Wachau and Kamptal Riesling.

Franz Hirtzberger

We would have, especially my wife, wanted to end with Wachau, but already in the second room, we changed our plan. I couldn’t resist the idea of ​​comparing F.X. Pichler’s wines with those of Franz Hirtzberger, whose 2016 Grüner Veltliner Honivogl changed forever the way I look at Austrian wines. The Axpoint – Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2023 and the Honivogl – Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2023 keep pace with F.X. Pichler’s wines, while the Ried Steinporz – Riesling Smaragd 2023, although very good, seemed less impressive to me. The Axpoint – Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2023 is incredibly powerful and precise, pure Hirtzberger style, with notes of tangerine. The Honivogl – Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2023 is deep, complex, with notes of wood furniture and mango. It impressed me less than the 2016, but of course, these wines need time and, above all, a suitable tasting context. The Ried Steinporz – Riesling Smaragd 2023 is also precise and powerful.

The vast Burgenland

Jalits

Burgenland means red wines, and I wanted to try the Diabas from Jalits again, which had impressed me so much at the 2024 A Glass of Burgenland in Vienna. The 2019 Diabas confirmed itself as excellent, chocolatey, rich, intense, and with notes of cardamom. A must-have wine. The Reserve Szapary 2021 also performed well, obviously fresher but with solid juice and a medium body. A nice tone for a sip where incense and spices prevail over the fruit. The exact opposite of the good Eisenberg Reserve Ried Fasching 2021, where the cherry and fruit provide a softness supported by a decent spiciness.

Weingut Kofolk

Inevitably, at some point, the first disappointment had to come. When planning which exhibitors to visit, choices have to be made, and in this case, I tried to maintain a balance between mainstream producers (those with a complete profile on WineSearcher) and niche ones (often discovered in some low-circulation blogs). In this case, I probably veered too much towards the niche, ending up with a producer who, thanks also to two noisy characters unstable on their feet in front of the booth, left me very disappointed. Weingu Kofolk offered a Welschriesling Nolens Volens 2022 with simple, herbaceous, fruity, and floral notes – very elementary but with unresolved ambitions. We left after also tasting the Weisser Burgunder Muschelkalk Alte Reben 2022, a juicy but strange, funky, damp wine. Incomprehensible.

Moric

Fortunately, a neighboring booth to Weingut Kofolk caught my attention, despite not being in the initial plan: the always elusive Moric. Perhaps the most influential winemaker in Burgenland and among the most famous in Austria. A cult producer who can afford to leave his own website empty and not communicate to the VieVinum organizers which bottles he will bring to the event. And what bottles he brought! A team of three people managed the abundant flow of interested parties, and we were thrilled with the Lutzmannsburg Alte Reben Blaufränkisch 2021, which I had already tasted in the past but this time impressed me even more than in the 2020 vintage: perfectly integrated wood, a supreme nose, immediate notes of game, incense, aromatic herbs, and leather for a palate that evolves endlessly. All these sensations perceived in a chaotic context like that of VieVinum are impressive. A step below but still excellent was the powerful and precise Maissner Lutzmannsburg Ried Maissner 2021, with notes of incense and licorice, and the fruitier but solid and defined Schwemmer Lutzmannsburg 2021, with notes of blueberry and currant.

At this point, it is late afternoon, and from the elevated position where we are, we can see the first casualties of VieVinum: a man in his sixties with his shirt unbuttoned over his belly collapsing on some steps, a drunk woman on crutches staggering, groups of reddish men supporting each other. It’s an alcoholic Waterloo, and the infirmary is full.

Ernst Triebaumer

A producer I had high hopes for is Ernst Triebaumer. And the outcome is pending, in the sense that his Rust Blaufränkisch Ried Mariental Trocken 2021 didn’t amaze me, but perhaps with more calm, it can be better appreciated because it’s a delicate wine, where you can notice the typical red pepper of Blaufränkisch, with a fragile body that perhaps expresses the terroir well. Needs further evaluation. More attractive instead was the Rust Chardonnay Ried Bandkräftn Spätfüllung Trocken 2021: finally a white wine from Burgenland that I like, perhaps because of its time spent on the lees. Herbaceous and with excellently integrated wood, extremely satisfying in its play between these two poles.

A-Nobis

Before leaving, temporarily, Burgenland, we briefly taste the Grüner Veltliner Brut 2020 from A-Nobis. My wife has decided she must find a good sparkling wine, and this one is not bad at all, with a nice acidity and excellent perlage and body.

Searching for bubbles in Lower Austria

Lower Austria, when it’s the only geographical indication on the label, rarely signifies quality. But classism is an ugly thing, and despite these producers being relegated to a corridor, we aim for them to find a good bubbly. Spoiler: we won’t find it, or at least not here.

Zuschmann Schöfmann

Another huge disappointment in my journey through the world of hipster wines. The Grosse Reserve Chardonnay Extra Brut 2020 is like apple juice with a hint of malt being the only discernible quality. The Reserve Rosé Brut 2020 was almost flat: a shame because the salmon color and hints of wild strawberries were appealing. I need to filter my recommendations better.

Weingut Jordan

Disappointed but not defeated, we ventured to a neighboring booth. Despite the nice labels, the sparkling wines from this winery also disappointed us: both the Grüner Veltliner Brut Reserve 2021 and the Blanc de Noir Zweigelt 2023 seemed empty, although at least the former had attractive apple notes.

Pratsch

It went better with the Rosé 2023 from Pratsch, a pleasant blend of Sankt Laurent and Zweigelt. Solid effervescence and powerful notes of raspberry and cranberry. A nice wine!

Weingut Hagn

We leave Lower Austria with another disappointment. I have a high opinion of Hagn’s Green Hunter, which I consider one of the most underrated Austrian whites. However, the Reserve Green Hunter 2022 tasted at VieVinum was quite disappointing: it seemed very floral and, apart from the power of some notes and the juiciness I found in the 2021 vintage, there wasn’t much left. Too bad, but we’ll try again.

Styria, we need a break

Arriving in Styria, there’s a feeling of exhaustion: we’re past halfway through the producers we wanted to visit and well over halfway through the wine that, while we always spit unless it’s worth it, we can handle. The Anker bakery chain sponsors the event, and slices of bread are essential for soaking up the drinks, along with a few glasses of water. But even with all the technical precautions, we’re still human. Nevertheless, we persevere, and determination is promptly rewarded.

Weingut Thaller

My wife finally finds the bubble she was looking for at this small producer from Vulkanland, a Styrian DAC. The Österreichischer Sekt Extra Brut Blanc de Cabernet 2016 made a good impression also on me, with perfect effervescence in terms of power and length. Definitely the best bubbly of the day. The Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2018 seemed very interesting to me, a agile wine, with notes of cassis and beautiful verticality and depth (but it later disappointed me at the Steirische Riedenweinverkostung). I wouldn’t revisit the blend Rochus Trocken 2018, which I believe is their flagship: it’s mature and expansive, but it doesn’t go anywhere in terms of flavors. Nevertheless, a nice discovery; being in a pleasant area to visit, we might cross paths again in the future.

Neumeister

Neumeister was truly a great find. Out of five wines tasted, four were very good. The Ried Klausen Sauvignon Blanc 2021 and the Moarfeitl Sauvignon Blanc 2021 are delicate and elegant, yet vertical with a pronounced acidity, along with an attractive salinity. Tasting them made me happy! The Alte Reben Sauvignon Blanc 2019 is very intense and flavorful, with notes of pink grapefruit. The Ried Saziani Grauburgunder 2021 showed exceptional liveliness on the palate, leaving notes of orange peel. Very tense, it splendidly showcases the varietal. A summer wine that tastes of Styria. A step below, but no one is perfect, the Moarfeitl Morillon 2021, which despite being complex and flavorful, also seemed flat.

I also saw a magnum of a less recent vintage being opened, which is rather frustrating: sometimes producers have some “secret weapons” that they show to selected customers (usually restaurateurs or merchants), and it’s a matter of luck: if you’re around when the offer is active, you can take advantage of it. It’s a shame I didn’t.

Fischer Weine

We conclude the room with the last hipster disappointment of my itinerary. Fischer Weine, no thanks. The St. Anna Morillon 2022 is simply a terrible idea: it smells like a basement and is fetid, it’s juicy but not good. The Ried Stradenberg Alte Reben 2021 is more classic than the Chardonnay (Morillon is the name given by Styrians to Chardonnay), but it has very weak aromas.

VieVinum’s toilets as a site where gender equality is realized and amplified

The first restroom break at an event like VieVinum is crucial. If done too early, it forces repeated stops that make the whole experience more exhausting. If done too late, it makes the long minutes leading up to it unpleasant. In my opinion, it should be positioned at least three-quarters of the way through.

The queue for the bathrooms in these cases is fascinating. Tastings are, unfortunately, still mainly a male territory, although more and more women are seen on both sides of the booths. This creates the unprecedented situation where the ladies quickly enter the restroom while the men huff and puff in line, finally frustrated in their age-old entitlement.

More tastings for everyone, we need them as wine enthusiasts and as a society.

Rest of the world, but without overshadowing

Exhibitions like VieVinum also invite some non-local companies. I’m not exactly sure how the process works, but from the names, I believe they are producers who don’t yet have distribution in Austria or who already have established ties with some large wine shops like Wein & Co.

I also get the impression that the goal is not to overshadow the local champions too much, while also providing an exotic experience and responding to political logic. In short, it’s a bazaar, and my regret is not having explored all the Italian producers because the only one I approached provided some of the most convincing wines of the day.

Asinara

And I’m referring to this fine Sardinian producer. A classic Italian exhibitor in Vienna, who, when you tell him you’ve been living here for a few years, asks how you’re doing, how you’re coping, how you’ve adjusted to “all these rules”. My friend, what I really miss are these fine wines.

The Indolente Bianco 2023 (a Vermentino) has vibrant acidity and crisp notes of white peach, beautiful dryness, and good body. Its underwater-aged counterpart, the Cayenna SubMariner 2022, seemed weaker to me, but perhaps more refined. Maybe more time in the glass would have told me something more.

But the real champions of this producer, and also of the day, seemed to be the reds. The Indolente Rosso 2022 (a Cannonau) has aromas of fleshy cherry and light anise notes, well supported by tannins and a nice acidity. The Herculis 2020 is a great blend dominated by red berries, supported by splendid verticality and acidity. Another noteworthy blend is the Hassan 2019, with a rich and austere nose, again with red and black berry notes, and on the palate, the slight toasting of the wood gives impressive elegance. With this producer, I believe we’ll meet again.

A subsequent purchase of Tenuta Asinara‘s wines unfortunately impressed me less.

Ukrainian Wines

While I was engrossed in the interesting Sardinian offerings, my wife, sensitive as she is to the causes of the underprivileged, approached the Ukrainian wine booth. Now, attention to lesser-known regions, especially those under attack, is welcome, but we know the story of wine in the former Soviet republics: quantity over quality and more than a few difficulties in changing direction. It’s understandable, it’s literally another way of drinking and thinking about wine. However, in a context where tasting opportunities are physiologically limited like VieVinum, I tend to guard them jealously.

My wife, on the other hand, was ensnared by a friendly Ukrainian wine representative who subjected her to multiple unhappy tastings. I freed her from this person’s clutches by paying for just a sip of Odesa Black 2022, a soft wine, perhaps with notes of coffee, and completely soulless.

Azerbaijani Wines

At this point, however, my wife got caught up in a post-Soviet frenzy and wanted to stop at the Azerbaijani wine booth as well. Welcoming us was a young man full of enthusiasm and breathless, with great dedication to the cause but with a few gaps in knowledge (“This is a blend of Syrah, um… Cabernet Sauvignon, and… another one I can’t remember!”). The most interesting aspect of these exhibitors is how they tell the enological history of their country. Azerbaijan paid for the conversion to Islam and the consequent destruction of a millennia-old wine culture. It was then the Soviet Union that clipped the wings of a country that was still the second-largest wine producer in the USSR. It’s always revealing to see how Russia’s neighbors maintain a deeply rooted and historically founded hatred towards their arrogant neighbor.

Let’s talk about the wines, although it would be better not to. The Limited Release Red Dry Reserve tastes of earth, lacks body, and has a sweet finish. Slightly better is the Azgranata Bayanshira, which at least has some density. Good luck, friends.

Greek Disappointments

We concluded our itinerary in the hall dedicated to Greece. I don’t know why many of the non-Austrian exhibitors were Greek. I recognized some names also proposed by Wein & Co. I was definitely expecting more from these wines, and the huge exhibitor who snatched a water bottle from my hand while I was rinsing my glass, thinking I wanted to take it with me, certainly made the whole operation less pleasant. I understand the mindset of those coming from a water-deficient land, but I don’t come to VieVinum to steal half a liter of sparkling water.

Kourtaki

I wasn’t interested in this exhibitor, but I confused the names and ended up tasting the Kouros Sterea Ellada Assyrtiko 2023, which doesn’t have any particular aromas except perhaps a hint of pear and lacks acidity.

Canava Chrissou – Tselepos

This is the producer I was initially looking for. However, their Santorini Vieilles Vignes 2022 isn’t a much better Assyrtiko than the previous one: it lacks acidity and has obvious lemon notes. What a pity.

Ktima Gerovassiliou (Κτήμα Γεροβασιλείου)

It went slightly better with this last producer. The Malagousia Single Vineyard 2023 smells of yellow flowers and apple. The nose is interesting, but it lacks acidity and has an anonymous palate. The White 2023 is similar but, being a blend of Malagousia and Assyrtiko, it has a more pronounced acidity and citrus notes. A good idea for a blend.

Far more compelling was a bottle of Zafeirakis Limniona tasted at home.

Encore, finale, and farewells

After this last effort, we rest at a table in the Greek wine hall. A girl asks us if we recommend a specific wine within the room. We answer “No,” too tired not to be candid. We decide to head towards the exit, passing through the Burgenland hall again. I taste the wines from Moric, they are truly in a different league. At this point, the hall is definitely full of people who couldn’t drive not only a car but even their own legs. Inevitable, like the gong at a boxing match that lasted too long, there is also a bachelorette party.

K+K Kirnbauer

However, I recognize this producer, who had impressed me so much at the “Auf ein Glas Burgenland in Wien,” and we decide to stop. The Pink Pearls rosé is nothing special. The Wild Wild White cuvée has powerful aromas of apple and lemon balm, but it’s too juicy and heavy in the mouth, fading after the attack. The Zweigelt Girmer Reserve 2021, which I had liked before, showed power again but also softness. The robust palate recalls the scents of a strawberry greenhouse. It’s a high-level Zweigelt (a variety I don’t particularly like), with the wood very well integrated. The Cabernet Franc Konquest 2021, much beloved in the past, seemed less interesting to me, although still very good: powerful tannins, a very green and balsamic nose (although less than at the previous event), and on the palate coconut, with pleasant notes from barrel aging. We end a generally positive experience with an interesting Blaufränkisch Fortified that maintains the tannins and the spirit of the variety but evolves towards acidity and sweetness.

Wein Schmelzer

The taste of sweet wine prompts us to look for a TBA to conclude the experience. We end up, along with a Chinese restaurateur, at this booth. The company is both fortunate and unfortunate. Fortunate because the lady manages to be offered a Weissburgunder Eiswein 2007 with present but not invasive acidity, with notes of honey and dried tropical fruits. A TBA that is aging well, and we are pleased to taste it, without missing the opportunity to try an “off-the-menu” wine. The misfortune is that the restaurateur has the typical physical presence of her less courteous compatriots and therefore pushes you into a corner just to speak to the producer. Rude.

We conclude the tour with my wife at the booth of yet another sparkling wine producer (such as Vitikultur Moser, which she speaks well of) and me, like a lover who can’t move on, at Franz Hirtzberger’s booth.

We head towards the coat check as the exhibitors start to pack up. There’s a frantic, drunken air of major disassembly. An employee at the Anker bakery booth gives away the remaining loaves. My wife receives a huge one, I try to take two baguettes, she slams them against my chest along with another gigantic loaf and shouts, “Take them all!” It’s the Titanic.

Towards the exit, we stop to have a coffee at the Lavazza stand. In line with us, more than a few people have to lean on their companions to stay standing. Assuming they are companions and not perfect strangers. A very elegant girl, in a confused state, mumbles while sitting at a table while her boyfriend, with his shirt open to his belly button, pleads with her to drink some water.

We step outside, the day, once cloudy, has turned towards the sun. Behind us, the door of a grand carnival closes, a delirious dream that perhaps, more than introducing wine, manages to celebrate it. As one of Austria’s most prestigious wine events, VieVinum continues to evolve each year, and wine enthusiasts can explore our comprehensive VieVinum 2026 Report to discover what the future holds for this remarkable showcase of Austrian wine excellence.

Best wine of the day: Lutzmannsburg Alte Reben Blaufränkisch 2021 by Moric

Other great wines: Diabas 2019 by Jalits, Maissner Lutzmannsburg Ried Maissner 2021 by Moric, Schwemmer Lutzmannsburg 2021 by Moric, Indolente Rosso 2022 by Asinara, Herculis 2020 by Asinara, Hassan 2019 by Asinara

Discover also international wines such as Clos de Los Siete and other events such as MondoVino 2024 and Wine Affairs.