GRAPEVINE

KATHRYN McWHIRTER ON AUSTRIA'S BEST

THE AUSTRIANS used to send us their plonk, sweetened up to please the Liebfraumilch drinkers. Then came the antifreeze scandal, and we stopped buying any Austrian wines at all. Now, 10 years later, the Austrian wines that have crept into Britain are right at the opposite end of the price and quality scale. Many, though fine and delicious, are over-priced by British standards. The Austrian schilling is very strong, and we buy so little that transport costs are high.

But if you're game for a change, and ready to pay for a little esoteric luxury, Austria's best wines won't disappoint. Apart from dessert wines, Austrian whites tend to be dry, and fuller bodied than German wines - more the weight of French whites - because Austria has a far sunnier and warmer climate than Germany. The grape of Austria is the Grner Veltliner, almost unknown elsewhere, making comparatively cheap (for Austria) wines for slugging aprs-ski, and more expensive, finer estate wines. We don't see the gluggers here. Two of the best of the finer wines in Britain now are the 1993 Grner Veltliner Federspiel, Weissenkirchner Hinter der Burge, Weingut Prager (£9.22 Le Nez Rouge and Berkmann Wine Cellars of London N7) with its lovely balance between ripe, honeyed, peachy fruit and smoky, gooseberry tanginess; and the delicate yet concentrated and full-bodied 1993 Grner Veltliner Erste Lage, Loiserberg, Weingut Sonnhof Joseph Jurtschitsch (£8 Richard Nurick Wines of Pangbourne, mail order only) with lovely, creamy, gooseberry flavour.

Germany's Rhein Riesling is a minority grape in Austria, but in a few top areas its wines rival the estate wines of Germany. Try the delicious floral and piercingly lemony 1993 Riesling Federspiel Trocken, Terrassen Thal, Freier Weingrtner Wachau (£7.65 Philglas & Swiggot of London SW11) or the richer, more minerally 1993 Riesling Sma-ragd, Weissenkirchener Achleiten, Freie Weingrtner Wachau (£l0.95 Fortnum & Mason). The 1990 Riesling Smaragd Trocken, Burgerspitalstiftung (£l0.95 Fortnum & Mason, £ll.95 John Harvey & Sons of Bristol) is finest of the lot, richly lemony, honeyed and flowery.

Pinot Blanc grows all over Austria, and the 1992 Pinot Blanc Halbtrocken Jochinger Weissburgunder Smaragd (£7.65 Philglas & Swiggot) is a model for Pinot Blancs anywhere in the world, elegant, honeyed and deliciously rich and tangy. Like everyone else, the Austrians also play with Chardonnay. For a world used to dry Chardonnay, it's a weird experience to drink the sweetish 1993 Nigl Chardonnay Auslese Lieblich (£9.93 Le Nez Rouge and Berkmann Wine Cellars of London N7), but it's a delicious wine, apricotty and honeyed, an interesting trick aperitif for wine-buff friends.

Austria specialises much more in whites than reds, but the reds can be good. The main red grape is the Zwei-gelt, which can be over-astringent. Not so the 1993 Weingut Gesellmann Zwei-gelt (£5.78 Le Nez Rouge and Berkmann Wine Cellars of London N7), a rich, firm and different red with some tannin and oak. Also very attractive is the 1993 Siegendorf Rot, Neusiedlersee- Hgelland, Lenz Moser (£6.90 Mitchells of Sheffield, £6.99 Pimlico Dozen of London SW1 and Bentalls of Kingston); a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and the local Blaufrankisch, it is plummy and strawberry-scented. Austria occasionally makes pure Cabernets too: 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon Prestige Qualittswein, Siegendorf Lenz Moser (£8 Wiljay Wines of Staplehurst, Tonbridge) is an excellent, slightly tarry example.

Austria's most stunning wines are very sweet. Prices are stunning, too. I gave some of my highest marks ever to the 1992 Nouvelle Vague Beerenauslese Weinlaubenhof Alois Kracher (£25 per half bottle Noel Young of Trumpington and Winecellars of London SW18), an unusual, terrifically concentrated dessert wine with complex flavours. The 1993 Weisser Schilfmandel, Opitz (£39.80 per half T&W Wines of Thetford) is wonderful too, bursting with honey and flowers. The mercifully pronounceable 1991 ET, Ruster Ausbruch (£19.07 per half bottle Le Nez Rouge and Berkmann Wine Cellars) is comparatively cheap, but still a really heavenly wine made by (the terrestrial) Ernst Triebaumer. Something to phone home about...