Europe is like an oven at the moment, which will pain Brits to hear, given that our fair isle is shrouded in grey. But despite having almost five weeks of constant sunshine during this summer’s Grand Tour, we arrived in Austria to be greeted by a cold, rainy day. It was fine for us, as performances at the Salzburg Festival beckoned, but we returned to the Gasthof Fürberg on the Wolfgangsee late at night, just as the mist was coming down. There was a palpable chill in the air; it was definitely red wine weather. So, despite the restaurant being closed, I took myself to the kitchen, where two of the Fürberg’s brilliant staff obliged me with a 2012 bottle of Weingut Markowitsch‘s Redmont Cuvée. I’m not quite sure of the split in the 2012 vintage, but the 2013 is 55% Zweigelt, 25% Blaufränkisch, 15% Cabernet and 5% Syrah. It has a smoky nose, lovely fruit from the Zweigelt, but a massive crack of black pepper minerality from the Blaufränkisch. Sitting on our balcony, overlooking a slightly chilly Wolfgangsee, we thought ahead to autumn days and drinking more delicious Markowitsch reds.
Grape Wein 