Austria unveils winning wines by the glass

The 10 winners of the Austrian Wine by the Glass promotion were announced last week at a reception held at the Austrian Trade Commission.

His Excellency Dr Emil Brix, the Austrian ambassador to London, unveiled the names of those sommeliers awarded trade prizes to visit Austrian wine estates next year.

During the reception, guests were served a selection of the 100 different Austrian wines chosen by UK sommeliers to be listed by the glass.

The final 100-strong list was unsurprisingly dominated by Grüner Veltliner, Riesling and sweet wines. However, more quirky listings were the Polz Sauvignon Blanc, the Hartl Rotgipfler and the Gut Oggau Cuvée, a blend of Grüner Veltliner and Welschriesling.

There was also strong representation from Austria’s red wines, a category which is steadily building traction in the UK. The easy drinking Zweigelt was most prominent, supported by Pinot Noir, St Laurent, a pair of blends and some good quality examples of Blaufränkisch, the variety identified as Austria’s best ambassador for raising the profile of its red wines.

In total, 67 restaurants, pubs and hotels took part in the promotion, from locations as diverse as Stirling in Scotland to Jersey in the Channel Islands. The final winners were:

Susan Cheng, head sommelier, The Glasshouse Restaurant, London
Shana Dilworth, head sommelier, The Orrery Restaurant, London
Scott Edwards, The Tay Street Restaurant, Perth, Scotland
Matthieu Germond, head sommelier Pied à Terre Restaurant, London
Arnaud Goubet, head sommelier, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Oxfordshire
Clare Johnston & David Wilson, The Kilberry Inn, Argyll, Scotland
Martin Lam, Ransome’s Dock Restaurant, London
Hak & Monica Ng, The Royal Baths Chinese Restaurant, Harrogate
Joao Pires, head sommelier, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London
Luke Robertson, head sommelier, The Ledbury, London

Gabriel Savage, 24.05.2011