The Summer Travels of the #WorldWineTravel Writers + Sipping Natural Wines in Vienna

This month I invited the World Wine Travel writers to share some stories of their summer adventures along with wines or pairings from those trip.

The Line-Up of Summer Travels from the #WorldWineTravel Writers

• A Wine to Enjoy Around the Campfire by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Montefalco Rosso, A Revelation by Avvinare

• Our Central European Whirlwind - Prague, Vienna, and Budapest - Paired with Wine by Culinary Cam (that's mine, check back here)

• Sipping, Nibbling, and Hiking Through the Finger Lakes by Side Hustle Wino

• South Dakota Wine and Other Summer Sips by Cooking Chat

• Summer Wine Adventures: Cedar Lake Cellars by Our Good Life

Sipping Natural Wines in Vienna

This summer we had two significant trips: one to Montana for our niece's wedding and one to Central Europe. I already shared our wines from the former in my post from last month's #ItalianFWT: Have Wine. Will Travel. Umbrian Wines on a Summer Road Trip. And the latter will be my focus for this event, publishing later this week.

But, for now, especially since there was no food pairing involved with these wines, I will share about the natural wine bar we found in Vienna called Rundbar.

After a long day of adventuring that began at seven o'clock, we ended up in Vienna's District 7, drinking wine until after eleven o'clock which got us home at nearly midnight. But that schedule was pretty typical for our trip. About halfway through the trip, though, the boys realized that we - meaning me and Jake - did better if we got a nap-break in the late afternoon.

I had read about this place and asked D to slot it into our itinerary. Natural wine is a term that refers to a movement among winemakers to produce wine using simple or traditional methods. Though there is no uniform definition or necessary certification to call something natural wine, it is usually produced without the use of pesticides or herbicides, with few or no additives, and with limited filtration and fining. And I find them fascinating.

We sat in their sidewalk seating for the first thirty minutes, then moved indoors as the outside closed. We ordered four glasses to start: three from Austria and one from France, opting for two Pét-Nats and two skin-ferments. When we moved inside, we ordered two more glasses to share and a bottle to go.

Here's what we tried that evening...

Pét-Nat Rosé NV from Schödl Family

Weinviertel, Lower Austria

The Schödl vineyard and winery, in Weinviertel, is operated by siblings Mathias, Viktoria and Leonhard Schödl who took over the winery from their parents. During the transition, the siblings transformed the winery to be fully chemical-free and holistic. They even have have sheep roaming the vines and other efforts towards biodiversity.

If you are unfamiliar with Pét-Nats ((Pétillant Naturel), you can read a little bit about how they are made in my post Pink Pét-Nats from Around the World with Some Loved Up Bites. This wine blends 60% Pinot Noir with 40% Zweigelt grapes. They are crushed after harvest and left with their skins for several hours before being pressed and left to ferment in stainless tanks. Natural yeasts do their magic, transforming the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This wine undergoes a single disgorgement after its fermentation in the bottle.

This wine has abundant citrus aromas of lime, grapefruit, and bergamot. On the palate there is also the freshness of apples and the sweetness of candied lemon. The wine was refreshing and, if I could get my hands on another bottle, my quintessential bottle of bubbles for the season.

Pitt Nat NV from Weingut Pittnauer

Burgenland, Austria

Playfully named pitt nat after his surname, Weingut took the reins of the vineyard after the deaht of his father, Gerhard Pittnauer in the mid-1980s. At only 18-years-old, Weingut had to train himself how to make wine. In fact, he decided he wanted to grow wine instead of make wine. Over the years he and his wife, Brigette, developed to create what they call living wines. Everything from composting to pruning is done by hand; they follow the lead of the grapes, only picking at perfect ripeness instead of on a schedule. Their lands are certified biodynamic and organic.

This wine is a blend of 50% Gemischter Satz, 20% Grüner Veltliner, 20% Sauvignon Blanc, 5%

Muskat-Ottonel, and 5% Sämling. On the nose there are aromas of citrus, herbs, and some white flowers. On the palate there is a hint of bitterness like tonic water which I love.

Skin-Ferment Ruländer (Pinot Gris) by Andert-Wein

Neusiedlersee, Austria

Brothers Erich and Michael Andert began farming biodynamically since 2003 and were awarded their Demeter certification four years later. Additionally, Michael is a certified herb educator. Rülander is what their grandfather preferred to call the grape instead of Grauburgunder or Pinot Gris.

This single varietal is made from 100% Rülander grapes that were hand-picked, destemmed, and macerated for five days before pressing. The wine is allowed to undergo malolactic fermention which lends the wine an almost waxy texture. The pours the color of a late sunset. On the nose there are aromas of apples and almonds. On the palate the wine has the sweetness of ripe peaches and the silkiness of caramel. But the finish has an alluring salty and smoky finish. We ordered a second glass of this wine for sharing!

Skin-Ferment Brutus by Jean-Marc Dreyer

Rosheim, France

J.M Dreyer's Brutus is the only wine we ordered that was not from Austria. It's a blend of 50% Auxerrois Blanc and 50% Pinot Gris. They converted the estate to biodynamic practices in 2003 though they didn't proceed with full certification until 2014. This wine poured clear with a pale golden orange tinge. On the nose I got quince with cinnamon and yeast. On the palate the wine was round with a dry salinity and a touch of white flowers.

We bought a bottle of Gora Plava 2020 and drank that the following evening with some take away kabobs.

That's a wrap on my #WorldWineTravel preview. I'm looking forward to reading more about my colleagues' summer trips. Stay tuned! Also, next month the wine writers will be looking at the white wines of the Loire for #Winophiles with Jeff of FoodWineClick! leading the charge.