Located to the west of Lake Neusiedl and the Leitha Mountains, Jois lies in the northern part of the wine-growing region of the same name—a region that extends southward as far as Mörbisch, at the southern end of Lake Neusiedl. It is in Jois that one finds the Martin Pasler Winery, whose Beerenauslese we tasted. Established in the 17th century, the winery has been managed by Martin Pasler since 1994—and has been farmed organically since the year 2000.
For the 11th time, Hans Tschida of ⁄ was named “Sweet Winemaker of the Year” in the autumn of 2025.
Tokaji or Tokajer, once very popular with European royal families, came into the focus of western investors shortly after Hungary’s political change, who hoped to be successful with a renaissance of Tokajer. For example, the French insurance group AXA Millésimes took over the long-established, well-known Disznókő winery in 1992. Whether this had an influence on the quality of the Tokaji Aszú 6-Puttonyos 1993 tasted from the winery remains to be seen.
The Friulian DOC Colli orientale, like the DOC Collio, only came into focus in the 1970s, when both entered the wine market with large quantities of cool-fermented, fresh, fruity and aromatic white wines. This was mainly because the wines were made from internationally known varieties, especially Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. In the 1980s, international red wine varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir were increasingly planted in order to better position themselves internationally in the red wine sector.
Klaus and Mecki served a 2018 Sauvignon Blanc Beerenauslese (BA) from the Robert Goldenits winery in Burgenland with a lemon sorbet garnished with aged balsamic vinegar. The winery, which I previously knew more for its red wines, is located in the extreme southeast of the Neusiedlersee wine-growing region, in Tadten.
The Seewinkel, originally the area east of Lake Neusiedl in the area of the towns of Podersdorf, Apetlon and Illmitz, is known worldwide for its noble sweet wines. The indication of the narrower origin “Seewinkel” for noble sweet Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve is only permitted if the grapes come from the communities of Apetlon, Illmitz and/or Podersdorf.
Chardonnay, a popular, versatile and widely grown international white grape variety, is known for a wide range of dry wine styles. But there are also sweet Chardonnay wines: In Burgenland, the variety, due to the fact that Botrytis, is more common there, delivers interesting sweet wines.
The Weinlaubenhof Kracher, world-famous for its sweet wines, not only has excellent Trockenbeerenauslesen (TBA), such as the TBA N ° 4 Nouvelle Vague 2010 made from chardonnay, but also a TBA … Read more ...
The Syss 3.0 from the Kloster am Spitz winery is really a bit unconventional, as it combines Eiswein 1990 and TBA 1998 from Neuburger and Scheurebe from the Purbacher Riede Zelter with a fresh Rosenmuskateller 2022. It has been created by Thomas Schwarz, the winemaker of the Syss 3.0.
The most common and best-known sweet wine in Tuscany is undoubtedly Vin Santo in all its varieties. According to the production regulations for wines from the IGT Toscana (Indicazione Geografica Tipica), other sweet wines may also be produced. Either a Passito, i.e. a sweet wine made from dried grapes,
The best-known Austrian noble sweet wines probably come from Rust and Seewinkel, located east of Lake Neusiedl. The climate prevailing on Lake Neusiedl particularly favors the development of Botrytis, which makes it possible to harvest grapes for Beeren- and Trockenbeerenauslese in almost all years. On the east side, the botrytis development is by a variety of