When it comes to contemporary Austrian wines, you’re not in Germany anymore. Tasting a peppery gruner veltliner and a red cuvee blend from a 33 year old winemaker.

Austria: Anton Bauer

I used to think that Austrian wines were interchangeable with low-end German wines—white, bland, oily, and on the sweet side. I realize this is a huge, perhaps unfair generalization and notable exceptions exist, but there used to be—and at least with the more commercial German wines there still is to some degree—a kernel of truth here.

To add to the confusion, what they lacked in elegance and complexity (think of all that Liebfraumilch for example) they more than made up for in the intricacy of their names and, to the American ear, the convoluted syllables. This is perhaps not an insurmountable problem when you consider that we all had to learn to say cabernet sauvignon at some point in our lives.

But when it comes to contemporary Austrian wines, you’re not in Germany anymore. Both countries—Austria in particular—have made real efforts to shift that image. The past fifteen to twenty years have witnessed no less than a revolutionary change in Austrian wines, most certainly in the ones we see imported here. Especially since the scandal in 1985 in which a few misguided Austrian merchants doctored their wine and in the process savaged their country’s winemaking reputation, the situation has transformed considerably.

Government and industry standards were severely tightened. Yield per acre for example was greatly reduced to enhance quality. Just as important, a new generation of winemakers—young, worldly, intelligent, and dedicated to excellence—came of age, producing sophisticated reds as well as dryer whites. The timing was fortuitous considering the intensification of interest in wine both here and abroad beginning in the 1990s.

So it was with a great deal of curiosity and some high expectations that I spent a good part of a recent weekend meeting with and drinking with several Austrian winemakers who were visiting the East End.

Anton Bauer, 33 years old, is a fourth generation winemaker. He farms 30 acres west of Vienna and produces distinctive wines using modern cellar techniques. I was anxious to sample his gruner veltliner. This popular native grape accounts for about a third of all the viticulture in the country and like the chardonnay grape results in white wines with a fairly wide range of characteristics depending on the terroir and the winemaker’s ambitions.

For an American, gruner veltliners are the most evident of the dry white wines that now characterize Austrian craftsmanship and they are gaining a laudable reputation. The best for my taste are young and fresh, spirited, with crisp acidity, clean citrus flavors and a bit peppery. I was pleased with Bauer’s gruner veltliner Gmork 2002. I found it sprightly and charming, comfortably complex without being fat or overly serious. At $11.25 a bottle it can easily compete with the chardonnays and sauvignon blancs we sip all summer, and it ought to be a winner with grilled fish and light summer menus.

Since most of us are not accustomed to Austrian reds, I knew Bauer’s Wagram Cuvee No. 7, 2001 would be more of a test. It is composed of 25% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot, 35% blaufrankisch and 30% zweigelt, the latter two indigenous Austrian grapes. After five or ten minutes in the glass, this dark, inviting wine passed the test with high marks. Fairly full bodied with a scent of violets and a concentrated taste of currants and black fruits it compares well to many clarets. The oak aging is apparent but delicate in the long, smooth finish. The fruit and acid balance should pair well with food.

The structure is not copying California or Bordeaux, as far as I could tell. Perhaps it is the native grapes or perhaps there really is a new Austrian style. My guess is that the winemaker’s goals are restrictive but assured—to produce a mellow, engaging and seductive taste, the kind you might use everyday for your house wine. Overall, it gives a lot of pleasure for $18 a bottle. Anton Bauer wines are just arriving at Amagansett Wine, and should be available in some local restaurants and other wine stores over the next few months.