Austrian Wine Tasting at Austrian restaurant

There was a seminar/tasting of Austrian wine with winemakers at The Salzburg in North Beach, San Francisco.

The Salzburg is an Austrian restaurant with a modern mountain cottage feel.

First, tasting of four Gruner Veltliner.

Harm Gruner Veltliner Wacha 2016
Gardenia, lime, orange oil. Acid is high but mouth feel is soft.

Harm Gruner Veltliner Ried Kremser Wachtberg 2016
Jasmin, lemon, orange zest and incense. Approachable.

Jurtschisch Gruner Veltliner Loiserberg Erste Lage 2015
Honeysuckle, gardenia, lime and pickled lemon. Good freshness from acid.

Jurtschisch Gruner Veltliner Kaferberg Erste Lage 2016

Jasmin, fresh tobacco and note of honey. Rich texture.

Then tasting of three Riesling

Jurtschisch Riesling Zobinger Heiligenstein Erste Lage 2016
Sweet white flower, petrol. pear and peach.
Acid is there but not aggressive.

Harm Riesling Durnstiner Kellerberg 2015
Notes of floral and petrol. Soft, creamy texture.

Harm Riesling Viesslinger Bruck 2015
Citrus, honey with soft acid.
This is not a sweet wine, but there was a subtle sweetness from the ripe citrus fruit.

The trend of winemaking style had been big and heavy for a while in Austria; however, young winemakers are more into terroir-driven lighter wine, expressing its terroir and the characteristics of the variety.

Next tasting was wines from Eisenberg.
This DAC produces red wine from 100% Blaufrankisch.
Eisenberg is also a name of 415 m high mountain which provides gentle slopes and soils with high iron content.
This is the smallest appellation and relatively unknown comparing with other big names like Wachau. Production is also small and many of the winemakers are part-timers. I found this quite unique - sounds like these wines are from the time that wine production hadn't been dominated by large companies yet.

Blaufrankisch from Eisenberg has been considered to be "heavy" wine made with high extraction, but it is changing: more fresh and delicate wines with finesse are produced by careful winemaking.

Wachter-Wiesler Blaufrankisch 2015
Violet, cherry, strawberry. Straightforward, entry level Blaufrankisch.
There was distinct minerality of iron. I found it a little overwhelming, but JC loved it.

Wachter-Wiesler Blaufrankisch Eisenberg Bela Joska 2015
Aromas of rose, coffee beans and fresh herb.
Medium acidity and a little higher tannin.

Wachter-Wiesler Blaufrankisch Eisenberg Ried Weinberg 2014
It was a damp year but thick skin protected fruit.
Coffee, fresh red fruit and preserved strawberry. Tannin is soft.

Wachter-Wiesler Blaufrankisch Eisenberg Ried Weinberg 2011
Red fruit, decayed rose petal, medicinal and incense.
Complex and decent. Beautiful wine.

We enjoyed these wines in the cozy atmosphere of this small restaurant. We didn't have a chance to taste their food this day, but were saying that we would come back to try some food with wine.
However, it seems like the restaurant was damaged by fire just days after this tasting.
Hope the damage wasn't serious and they can recover soon.