Austrian Wines premieres 2020 vintage at “brilliant” at-home tasting

The Austrian Wine Marketing Board has premiered the 2020 vintage with a highly successful digital wine tasting that brought together more than 50 winemakers and 170 UK-based wine experts for a ‘Stay-at-home tasting’.

With the support of the Austrian Embassy and the Austrian Trade Commission in London, the AWMB gave 170 retailers, sommeliers and journalists across the United Kingdom the opportunity to select 36 Austrian wines to taste from the comfort of their own home, with the ability to discuss their chosen wines in depth with the winemakers who made them, via an online platform.

50 producers took part in the tasting, representing 14 Austrian winegrowing regions. Each expert was able to wines from 12 different winemaker’s portfolios, with the selected wines then rebottled in small tasting bottles and shipped to each participant.

The 150 wines in the portfolios included 17 wines from the 2020 vintage, which the organisation said promises “plenty of fruit and outstanding drinkability”.

Austrian Wine’s CEO Chris Yorke pointed out that due to further cancellations of all major wine fairs, winemakers needed alternative solutions for showcasing their wines to an international audience.

“Our ‘stay-at-home’ series is another online wine-tasting format that allows winemakers to present their outstanding wines and continue networking with contacts – the key to long-term business relationships,” he said.

Feedback from the event was very positive.

Retailer Peter Honeggar of Newcomer Wines said it had been a great way to connect with like-minded professionals and tasting the 2020 vintage showed it would be a “small but precise vintage with many great wines to come over the next few years”.

Stefan Neumann MS of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal agreed that being able to chat to some producers with the option of a direct video call was “brilliant”.

“The 10-minute video calls gave you just enough to get to know each other and exchange useful and helpful information,” he said.  “What I have tried so far from the 2020 vintage has shown me that regardless of what is happening in the world – Austrian wine is in a good spot! Precise, fresh and vibrant examples.”

Following the success of the UK initiative, two further events have been planned in Poland in April, and Ontario, Canada in June.

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Please click here to read the The Austria Report 2020 by the drinks business, which was compiled with the support of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB)