The Next Generation of Austrian Winemakers
Three incredible winemakers to start paying attention to!
9/18/26 -
There is so much more to Austrian wine then the famed Gruner Veltliners and Rieslings of the Wachau, Kremstal, and Kamptal. With today's email I want to travel further Southeast to Carnuntum, Leithaberg, and Eisenberg to check out the wines of Hanna Glatzer, Leo Sommer, and Clemens Krutzler. Each are making singular, special wines that I cannot recommend enough. I believe these three winemakers are defining what we can expect from the next generation of Austrian winemakers, and trust me, the future looks bright!
To go along with this email today, I am excited to host a tasting on Monday, September 28th at Freddy's Tribeca. During the approximately 45 minute tasting we will go through two wines from each of these up and coming winemakers, and explore a whole new world of Austrian wines. Tickets for the two seatings can be found listed after the wines and cost $35 dollars. After the event that will turn into store credit for you to use at Chambers Street Wines.
My goal with both this email and tasting is to introduce you all to areas of Austrian wine that don't always get the attention they deserve, but is home to special people making simply delicious wines. Space is limited so be sure to grab a ticket now. I hope to see you there!
-Hanna Krilov Cohen
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Let's start with with the Northernmost DAC of the three with Hanna Glatzer in Carnuntum. Hanna is the daughter of Walter Glatzer, and on top of helping her father at the family domaine, has been making wines under her own label since 2021. Like many others of her generation, Hanna did not see herself making wine. She studied pre-law before realizing she had a passion for winemaking and transferred to Geisenheim. At that time she started making low intervention wines from her family's certified organic vineyards. Carnuntum, which didn't obtain its own DAC until 2019 is located within the Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), and runs from Vienna east towards the boarder with Slovakia. I find that it actually shares more in common with its neighboring region to the south, Burgenland, than with the more recognizable regions like Wachau, Kremstal, and Kamptal in Lower Austria. With more overlap of grape varietals and geography.
Hanna is making wines that are playful, joyous, and simply delicious! I got to meet Hanna when she visited New York back in March and was thrilled to taste through her lineup with her. Across the board each wine is just so full of energy and freshness that it is impossible not to want to go back for more after each taste. I left that tasting with a strong impression, he wines continued to come to mind as ones to keep going back to for fun, easy drinking. Today I am excited to showcase her Welschriesling, Pinot Noir, Blaufrankisch, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Her Blaufrankisch is a perfect balance of juicy red fruit with peppery spices and a bright finish while her Cabernet Sauvignon shows off how spicey, and fresh Cabernet can be in Austria.
Moving just south, you hit Leithaberg within the Burgenland region. This is where you often see mainly Blaufrankisch, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay, but that is not the case when you look towards Leo Sommer's vineyards. I was first introduced to the wines of Leo when a friend poured me a glass of his Riesling a few months back and I immediately began to ask around about him and his wines. Riesling from Leithaberg?! I had never seen any before. After reaching out to inquire more, I learned that Leo would be visiting New York in just a few weeks and was able to meet him and taste almost his entire lineup. For an area I had always thought of as “Blaufrankisch country” for lack of a better term, I wasn't expecting to find such impeccable Riesling, Gruner, Sauvignon Blanc, and Welschriesling. When I asked him about the choice to grow these varietals, he explained how his grandfather had planted them and never questioned it. Forget what you know about Austrian Gruner and Riesling because this lineup is unlike anything else you have had before. These are deeply mineral, textural white wines with so much personality. They are soulful and thoughtful while still being food friendly. We have his full lineup today with Sauvignon Blanc, Welschriesling three Gruner Veltliners, and two Rieslings! The Gruners feature his entry, Little Sister, alongside two single vineyard representations, each unique and special in their own right. For Rieslings we have his delicious Handwerk alongside the very special release of When We See, a single barrel that was separated from the Handwerk blend that stood out and was therefore made into its own special release. It is a touch reductive but opens up into incredible aromatics. Notes of orange, citrus peel, and sea breeze. This is incredibly textural Riesling with a very long finish. To make sure everyone has a chance at this special wine we have a 1 bottle limit per customer.
Named Falstaff’s Best Young Winemaker in Burgenland in 2024, Clemens Kruztler started making wine in 2020 with just 1 barrel of Welschriesling at 18 years old. He is working with vines from his family's forty-year-old estate in Eisenberg DAC, the southernmost and coldest part of Burgenland. The cool temperatures provide excellent acidity but also more phenolic ripeness to the grapes making beautifully well rounded wines. He visited New York last fall and came by the shop one afternoon for a tasting. Getting to hear first hand about his methods and open mindedness when it comes to winemaking was really incredible. Everything is picked early, working as naturally as possible with minimal intervention, and he is continuing to experiment as the vintages go on. I have now gotten to taste through his last three vintages and I must say, they just keep getting better! We have his full line up today showing off Welschriesling, Gemischter Satz, Blaufrankisch Rose, and Blaufrankisch. All four wines are perfect for fall drinking, full of purity, beautiful aromatics, and incredible freshness. The Rose is darker, full of brambly fruits with a savory finish while the Blaufrankisch is incredibly smooth with notes of black cherry and blackberry alongside warming spices.
