subject of this new series on wineanorak, Austria is rapidly becoming one of my favourite wine countries. however, that Austrian wines have come on to the radar screens of wine geeks in the UK and USA. Most �average� consumers don�t realise this, but Austria makes brilliant, world class dry white wines from Riesling and Gr�ner Veltliner, although this message has now definitely filtered through to wine geeks across the globe. reason Austrian wines have not been better known abroad is probably because the domestic market greedily snaps up most of the good stuff, and this demand keeps the prices high. Indeed, Austria doesn�t actually make that muchBut the word is out: the best Austrian whites are a match for any, and increasing numbers of wine buffs are switching on to them both in the USA and UK. particular, Gr�ner Veltliner (left) is gaining more of the attention that it deserves. It�s Austria�s most abundant grape

variety, some 10 times more widely planted than Riesling, and makes versatile, expressive white wines often with a distinctThat might be stretching things a bit, but with its food friendliness and capacity to gain complexity with age, Gr�ner looks set to gain more friends across But it would be unfair to think of Austria just in terms of Gr�ner Veltliner and Riesling from the Wachau, KremstalIt�s a country with a range of different climates and vineyard regions producing a diversity of wine styles, including some great sweet wines and even some serious reds. It�s the whites get most of the attention, but the reds have quietly been improving. Where they aren�t overoaked or forced, they can be surprisingly good, although they are still quite rare in the UK. Prices for Austrian wines remain a stumbling block, keeping them a niche item in the UK trade. still pretty reasonable considering the quality, there�s not

much choice under a tenner, and you probably need to be thinkingbest wine subscription clubs about spending around double that to experience some of the verybest new wine bar chicago I visited Austria in early October 2004, wherebest red wine for red meat harvest was just beginning in most regions. best type of wine to pair with chocolateOver the next fewred wine glass function weeks I�ll be adding my impressions, together with some furtherbest wine by itself

producer previews stemming from an Austrian wine dinner and the Austrian trade fair held in London. regions and vintages: an introduction Austria�s own variety, which is capable of making complex, full flavoured, spicy whites often with a distinctive white flower and cracked pepper edge to them. While Austrian Riesling has tended to steal the limelight, Gr�ner has just as much to offer, and the good news is that there�s a lot more of it. wine that drinks well young, yet can age, and it�s marvellously In Austria Riesling performs very well, making usually dry wines that have more precision than their Alsace counterparts and more weight than those from Germany�s Mosel. regarded, but with plantings amounting to only 3% of Austria�s vineyard area, there isn�t that much of it. This is what Austrians call Pinot Blanc, and it makes lovely gently aromatic dry white wines in southern regions such as S�dsteiermark.

Austria�s second most planted white grape and not related toFresh, simple fruity dry whites are the norm, but it can make sensational sweet wines. The most abundant red grape; makes good wines ranging from simple cherry fruit gluggers to more substantial reds destined for Common in Burgenland this makes spicy, sturdy, berry fruited reds which can have some tannic structure. It�s the same grape This red grape makes soft, approachable, juicy wines mainly These three neighbouring regions in lower Austria are the best for Gr�ner Veltliner and Riesling. Most of the country�s leading dry whites come from here. On the Hungarian border, famous for its sensational sweet wines from the Neusiedlersee, and increasingly good reds. A southern region neighbouring Slovenia. savoury white wines from Weissburgunder, Morillon (Chardonnay) and 2004 A vintage that the Austrian wine-buying public will appreciate: the long, cool, drawn out summer led to

light, crisp whites, and that�s how they like them. but not bad either.. 2003 Four atypically hot summer months led to some brilliant red wines. The jury is out on whether this warm year will also be a stunner for the whites. A disaster for the botrytised sweet wines from Burgenland. 2002 With the widespread flooding in the key regions during August, you�d be forgiven for thinking this wouldBut growers are actually quite happy with quality and rate this as a good year. Great for botrytis in Burgenland. 2001 September rains were the problem, but overall a fairly good year for whites. 2000 This hot, dry vintage was a successful 1999 Superb for whites, reds and sweet winesOver the years we've discovered there are just shy of a bazillion wine of the month clubs serving the UK. Okay, well maybe not that many! The wine club market in the UK seems focused on personal wine buying (subscriptions and plans) rather than gift-giving, which means if you're buying for yourself the competitive marketplace keeps prices down on your wine!

These are summaries discussing the high-level pros and cons of joining or giving each of these wine clubs. Our judgements are based on the companies' marketing materials and their websites, other editorial and reviews around the web, and our many years of experience reviewing wine clubs. In some cases we recommend giving clubs a try, in others we suggest alternatives we think are better. We're located in the US and we've been reviewing wine clubs from this side of the pond for eight years. Our process involves getting shipments of the wine, but since we are unable to receive shipments of wine for UK clubs, we can't properly review the UK wine clubs. To help you out, we’ve gone ahead provided a short, professional opinion about these wine clubs in lieu of a review. Laithwaites is a HUGE wine club. Their service is available in the UK (where they started), the US, and Australia. Their unsurpassed volume means being a Laithwaites customer gets you unbeatably low prices on wine.

While price is not necessarily the most important factor in picking a wine club, they also have many customizations you can make to your account and wine deliveries. The Wine Plans The best rewards are reserved for the most loyal customers, starting with the introductory offer for new wine plan subscriptions. Your first case (12 bottles) is discounted 60% and has free delivery — Pay just £47.88 (£3.99 a bottle) and get free delivery — you'll save £64. The plans are called "The Seasons" and you can choose between red wine, white wine, or a mix of both. They also offer free tasting cards and a 100% money back guarantee. Choose your delivery date, get free stemless wine glasses with your first shipment, and enjoy 10% off any future case purchases from Laithwaites. They sort of make this information hard to find on their site, but your future cases will cost: £94.99 (plus p&p, £7.99) and will arrive every 12 weeks. Wine Gifts Laithwaites UK also offers a huge selection of wine cases and wine gifts.

They have a gift for any budget and they've conveniently outlined their Top 10 Gifts to make your gift shopping even easier. With all of the focus on what we eat, especially the big push for us to eat organically grown fruits and vegetables (and even beef), there's very little attention on organic wines. The reasons are complicated and include issues like an expensive certification process and how even if a winery does everything right, if the wind blows the wrong way, their grapes may pick up pesticides and will fail certification! There also isn't enough demand to sustain the costs to overcome those issues, for most wineries, they don't bother. Ironically, most small wineries are already organic wine. That said, The Organic Wine Club of the UK offers a terrific wine club program for anyone seeking out enjoyable organic wines (selected by their WSET diploma-holder and their members). You get two bottles each month for £35.00 and get free delivery with coupon code DISCOVERORGANIC.