Vienna wine: Gemischter Satz

A feature of Viennese vineyards for centuries, the Gemischter Satz is now experiencing a genuine renaissance. A Gemischter Satz is a wine made from a variety of grapes. In contrast to a cuvee, up to 20 different grape varieties are planted in the same vineyard, and harvested and pressed together. Originally, growers used the varying degrees of ripeness and acidity as a way to ensure consistent quality and guard against the risk of poor harvests. 

The vineyards of Christ, Edlmoser, Wieninger, Zahel, Cobenzl and Mayer am Pfarrplatz have made a big contribution to reinvigorating the old speciality with their WienWein Group.

The Italy-based Slow Food Foundation for the promotion of biodiversity has included the Viennese Gemischter Satz in its Ark of Taste, also making it one of its Presidia products. Only 300 products worldwide have been honored with this award. It is intended to protect high-quality and traditionally produced foods for future generations in the face of industrialized agriculture and big business. The Viennese specialty wine and the fruit of the Lower Austrian Wiesenwienerwald Chequer Tree are Austria’s first Presidio products.

The Slow Food movement was founded in Italy as a lobby for good taste, the preservation of culinary heritage, sustainable farming methods and safeguarding biodiversity. Today it has more than 100,000 members in 153 countries.

Glasses with a high standard of design are also available to accompany the excellent wine from Vienna. Former court purveyor Lobmeyr has teamed up with designer duo Polka to create a glass service. The highly successful wine producers of the WienWein group provided additional design tips. The understated series is comprised of two wine glasses, water glass, champagne glass, liquor glass and carafe.

www.slowfood-wien.at
www.lobmeyr.at
www.wienwein.at