I studied abroad in Austria when I was in college.  I studied in Vienna, but my program offered a trip out to fairly rural wine country region to get us kids out of the city.  The region we visited, called the Wachau, was in northeast Austria.  The region was flush with fall, red and golden-leaved trees were everywhere, as were tall bluffs and clear rivers.  We visited a small wine maker's home and sampled his wines, seeing how he created his brews in giant wooden tubs.  His crops were small, green grapes.

That's because the standout wine in the region and in Austria, I think, is Grüner Veltliner.  The wine is made with white grapes and is perfect for drinking in hot days in summer and fall. The light and crisp flavor with some notes of citrus is perfectly refreshing for heavy Austrian meals.

Back in the 1980's, Austria was counted amongst the ranks of big international wine producers like France, the United States and Italy. Austria had become a huge producer, providing the majority of wine products for Germany.  In the early 1980's, however, good crops helped wineries to produce bitter wines that nobody wanted to drink. An innovative, but stupid, wine-maker decided to add small portions of antifreeze to the wine to make it sweeter. 

Turns out the minimal levels of antifreeze were undetectable and were less alcoholic than wine itself, but the so-called "Antifreeze Scandal" disintegrated the Austrian wine trade. Many countries banned importation of Austrian wines.

In ensuing years, Austrian growers focused on producing delicious wines, rather than producing the huge quantities that they did in prvious decades.  Wine regulations became stricter in the country and Austria has since become the 17th largest wine manufacturer in the world, producing some of the most delicious wines in the world.

Austria is certainly paradise for wine drinkers because Austrians love eating and drinking. Hugely popuarly in Vienna in the summer and fall months are Heurigers, or outdoor wine and food emporiums.  People sit outside on long wooden tables, surrounded by lush greenery and are served wine and food to their hearts' content.  Food menus are not extensive, but usually feature massive buffets.  Staples at these buffets include Wiener Schnitzel, a pounded veal or chicken cutlet topped with a lemon wedge and ketchup and Liptauer cheese, a soft and spicy goat cheese usually spread on brown bread. Recorded music is never played, but sometimes you can find live traditional Austrian music at Heurigers. 

Grüner Veltliner is a perfect accompaniment to all types of food, but in the late summertime and early fall, Austrian wine producers produce a delicious wine drink I have never seen in the States.  Called Federweißer in Germany and Sturm in Austria, this drink is made by fermenting grape juice with yeast.  It is a sweet and carbonated drink with about a 10% alcohol content but it cannot be transported long distances because of the yeast's fermentation. The light wine is typically served as a contrast to heavy Austrian meals.

You'll have to go there to try Sturm, but Grüner Veltliner, even Grüner Veltliner  from the Wachau, is available all over the United States.