PAST TOUR
AUSTRIA
For our first vinous adventure to Central Europe we headed to Austria where we were introduced to the delights of indigenous grapes like Gruner Veltliner, Blaufrankisch and Zweigelt. After an excellent presentation at the Wine Academy we visited several high quality boutique producers in the regions of Neusiedlersee, Kremstal and Wachau.
We stayed in the pretty towns of Rust and Krems. And we visited the baroque marvel Ersteharzy Palace and its Wine Museum, enjoyed the Erste Lage tasting in the fabulous surroundings of Grafenegg Castle, and a took a boat ride on the River Danube marvelling at the terraced vineyards. What an exceptionally interesting and varied tour!
This was my first tour with Criterion and I can honestly say it met all my expectations! The scenery was exceptional and the wineries in the two regions we visited provided a great showcase for the indigenous grapes like Gruner Veltliner, Blaufrankisch and Zweigelt. The tour was well organised by Christos and everybody was easy to get on with – we all learnt a lot and had a lot of fun. All of the winemakers who presented to us were very passionate and knowledgeable and there is a lot of history here, including Nikolaihof which was can trace theirs back almost 2000 years! I now look forward to my next tour with Criterion.
David Brimlow