Alcohol: 13.5%
Grape(s): 100% Riesling
Localization: Weinviertel, Niederösterreich, Austria
Tasting Notes: Ripe, tender sweet, juicy fruit, fine acidity, herbs in the background as well as traces of nuts and tobacco. Mineral and very juicy with a long finish. Serve well-chilled.
Notes: Rigorous hand selection in the vineyard. Careful destemming; the grapes were pressed gently and then fermented in cooled stainless steel tanks to retain the clean fruit character. Longer yeast contact gives the wine more complexity and aging potential.
Food Pairing: The wine perfectly accompanies a wide range of fish dishes, lobster, and seafood.
The Domain: It all started with a crash. When Franz Rieder was dismissed as a bank clerk in 1928, he switched to winegrowing. This happened in an area in which mostly simple, often sour wine was produced, which was usually only suitable as a base for sparkling wine. 1979 was the first vintage of the grandson, Fritz, who understood that the area was well suited to produce noble sweets. Above all, it was always cold enough for ice wine in late autumn. With a 1980 Müller-Thurgau made from frozen grapes, he received an abstract 21 out of 20 points from an Austrian magazine. But the dry wines were edgy and coarse because the cellar technology was inadequate. As he replaced his old casks and a grape-weary press, quality improved across the board.
Because Fritz is a natural when it comes to marketing, he chose to name his winery Weinrieder. "Rieder is a common name in the area," he explains. "I wanted to set myself apart." The only consequence is that many customers address him as "Mr. Weinrieder". The company name has long been a registered trademark, such that "Weinrieder" remains unique and unrivaled in the scene.
The winery is located in the municipality of Kleinhadersdorf, west of the municipality of Poysdorf, in the Lower Austrian wine-growing region of Weinviertel. Today, the farm is managed by Friedrich Rieder. The philosophy of the house sets the direction: "Ingenuity is often only a millimeter away from disaster". The vineyards cover 20 hectares of vineyards in the best south and south-west locations on loess and clay soils in the vineyards Birthal, Bockgärten, Hohenleiten, Kugler, and Schneiderberg. Friedrich is proud that his estate adorns the wine lists of numerous international star restaurants in around 30 countries.
