D’Amato & Szabo: Wine Thieves – Episode 18

The Wine Thieves begin their cruise along the Danube exploring Neiderösterreich (Lower Austria), pausing to marvel at the magnificent, steeply terraced vineyards of the Wachau, the variegated side valleys of the Kremstal, Kamptal and the Traisental, with a pampered pitstop in Langenlois before next week’s hike into the Weinvertel. Sara loses John briefly to a reverie on loess, whose thick strata are the origins for the world’s greatest grüner veltliner, but brings him back in time for a conversation with Michael Moosbrugger, thoughtful winemaker and estate manager of historic Schloss Gobelsburg in the Kamptal, celebrating 850 harvests this year. He’s also the president of the ÖTW (Österreichische Traditionsweingüter), and speaks to us about the ongoing development of the Erste Lagen – “1er cru” – classification and the 30 years of study and research and tastings it will take to realize the  project. Our conversation gets Cistercian again as well delve into pre-industrialized winegrowing, the importance of terroir over grape variety, and how history continues to define us. So settle in with a gneiss glass of riesling, grüner veltliner or sankt laurent and join us for part one of our winding journey through the Danube Valley.