November 2018 Meeting - Austro-Hungarian Empire | Letchworth Arts and Leisure Group

An unusual topic this month from John and Tricia, with an eclectic selection of wine from the historic empire...

AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE

Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the Dual Monarchy, was a constitutional union of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary that existed from 1867 to 1918, when it self-dissolved at the end of World War I. None of this evening’s wines are that old, but all come from Countries of which some part once fell within the Empire’s ever-changing boundaries.

See below for the map showing the Empire as it was at the start of World War I

We bought this evening’s wines from Lidl, Waitrose and The Wine Society. They vary in price from £5.49 to £17.50 per bottle (before any discount). Quality and availability both affect price. Local grape varieties are often unique to the region, but better-known varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot are increasingly being grown. Quality has improved much in recent years (we hope).

1.	Moldova	Radacini, Sauvignon Blanc, 2017	£5.99	Waitrose
	Value for money Moldova. Sauvignon Blanc. 13% abv Dry. With all the hallmarks of textbook Sauvignon, including gooseberry and freshly cut spring grass and herbal hints Very aromatic and crisp.
2.	Slovenia	Puklavec & Friends Furmint	£9.99	Waitrose
	Textbook affordable Furmint Slovenia. Furmint. 12.5% abv Dry. Floral notes plus ripe orchard and fresh citrus fruit (whitecurrants and gunpowder) fill the nose and palate, and there's an appealing herbal lift on the finish. A zippy wine perfect for al fresco suppers or as a tasty aperitif, with a bit more heft than sauvignon blanc.
3.	Serbia	Fodor Orange Wine, Maurer 2016	£17.50	Wine Soc
	A fascinating traditional Serbian wine Serbia. Welschriesling. 11.5% abv Potent nose of varnish, woodspice, orange peel and ink. A real tour de force, with all sorts of peculiar flavours on the palate. The dominant style is a woody, bracken sort of character. Of fruit there is none, or very little. Pleasingly clean palate. Six days of skin contact in Hungarian oak barrels gives a golden amber colour, food-friendly palate 'grip' and structure to back up the delicious quince flavours. This orange wine has not been fined or filtered and may have a sediment or haze in the bottle.
4.	Croatia	Terra Rossa, Vina Istria	£8.50	Wine Soc
	Light, fresh and almost scented; easy drinking wine Istria peninsula, Croatia. Merlot blend. 13% abv Gentle, sweetly fruity red from the Istrian peninsula in north Croatia. It is made from a blend of Merlot, local Borgonja and fresh aromatic Teran and has delicious plummy aromas, tangy sour cherry flavours and tart acidity. The Istrian Peninsula juts into the northern Adriatic opposite Venice and has a climate that mixes the best of the Mediterranean and the tempering breezes from the cooler mountains inland to the north.

5.	Romania	La Umbra, Merlot	£5.49	Waitrose
	Rich, fruity red packed with juicy plum & cherry Dealul Mare region of Romania. Merlot. 13% abv This full-bodied red wine has a delicate aroma of ripe plums and forest fruits. It shows a fine balance between rich ripe plummy fruit and a tannic backbone. Enjoy with roast red meats such as lamb or beef.
6.	Romania	Novac Sec, Prince Stirbey	£13.95	Wine Soc
	An original Romanian red Romania (Transylvanian Alps). Negru & Saperavi. 13.5% abv Ripe but fresh and juicy flavours make it a very attractive red. Prince Stirbey wines are produced by Princess Ileana and her husband, Baron Jakob Kripp. They began winemaking in 1999 after reclaiming and reviving the historical family property. The winery was designed in a Tuscan style by Princess Ileana’s grandfather, Prince Stirbey.
7.	Hungary	Late Harvest Tokaji	£6.99	Lidl
	Young, medium sweet, affordable Hungary. Possibly Furmint. 10% abv Lovely with dessert or cheese. Luscious flavours of cooked peach, sweet but fresh and well balanced. Tokaji in Hungary has a long record of making sweet wines and the best are very good and very expensive. But in the past few years sweet wines have begun to appear that are ready for release a 12 to 18 months after harvest and usually labelled as “late harvest wines”. They typically contain residual sugar and a ratio of botrytised berries comparable to Aszú wines. Six grape varieties are officially approved for Tokaji wine production of which Furmint is the best known and most easily pronounced.

November 2018 Meeting - Austro-Hungarian Empire

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