The somm's at Benu have opened my eyes to the vast world of German and Austrian wines. I knew a few…read moreRieslings here and there but now I can add another Gruner Veltliner to the list. Nigl makes a very versatile, easily drinkable one. Apparently they have a hotel and restaurant on their property too. Would be pretty cool to stay, eat and drink yourself into a stupor at this locale. However for now,Ill enjoy the wine with Corey Lee's excellent cuisine...

Enjoyable tasting, including Riede Vorder Seiber and Buschenberg Grüner Veltliner. Very nice…read moreintroduction to this families vines and wines. Nice hospitality, enjoyable visit.

Great excursion with Viking Riverboat to the winery that supplies 250,000 bottles of wine to the…read moreViking company. Entertaining evening with Erhard Morwald and his family and delightful tasting of red and white wines. Also, I believe a young lady born in Connecticut was our tour guide inside the winery. She was outstanding and her rapport with Erhard made the evening. A night to remember.

Erhard alone is worth the visit to the winery. If you have not heard of Grüner Veltliner, you may…read morebe missing out on a wonderful simple, light refreshing white wine. It is the dominant grape in Wachau, the small, but amazing wine region in Austria. It is millions of miles away from the glycol, methanol and sugar laden disasters of my youth. Austria got its act together. Wachau is a crown jewel. And Erhard Mörwald is the Emperor. Too bad that he hasn't figured out how to ship to the US. We went to the winery as an add-on to our Viking Cruise. It was the best add-on tour of the whole trip.

I will say this until Im blue in the face. The sommerliers at Benu in San Francisco have never…read moredriven me wrong. Prager is amongst multiple vintages that I've had from them that have just elevated my enjoyment of wine. That with astounding food pairings, it's becoming addictive. Recently I tried the Smaragd Achleiten, and it was phenomenal. For the $50 US range this is a phenomenal wine, showing that the Austrian wines are underappreciated. Which is find by me as I can still afford them! Mineral intensity and long length are the characteristics of the wine. It is acidic and fresh when paired with certain things. The Smaragd generally refers to the lizard that shows itself in the fields and the highest wine classification in the Wachau, but this lizard may as well be a chameleon based on the different tastes this wine reveals.

Emmerich Knoll is definitely one of the more famous winemakers kin Austria. Amongst the high level…read moresomms ive seen a familiar love for Knoll's wines. Benu, Saison, Mangold in Austria, are just a number of high end places in tune with this wine and their ability to pair with food.The bottles themselves are works of art but it is the wine inside which shines even brighter. The Savignin grape is an old ancient one but with Knoll's skills, produces excellent Gruner Veltliner. Smooth, complex and ever changing with various foods and spices. A true chameleon, both Smaragd and Federspiel products are adaptable to pairings but also brilliant on their own.