Cesario Frizzante Sauvignon Blanc

This Frizzante is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc and comes from a family-owned vineyard in Mittelburgenland in Austria. The Kirnbauer family started making wine in 1979 when Irmgard and Walter(husband and wife team) bought the land and commited themselves to making superior quality wines. They are still very much involved in the running of the vineyard together with the help of their son, Markus and his wife, Alexandra.  Markus and Alexandra visited us in Cellars a few months back to introduce us to their family's wines. He works full-time in the winery whereas Alexandra works as an airhostess however it was quite apparent just how passionate she is about the wines as she would hardly let him get a word in edge ways!

  Austria is mostly known for it's dry white wines with Gruner Veltliner apparently set for world domination however the Kirnbauers are red wine producers, working with indigeneous Austrian grape varieties such as Blaufrankisch and Zweigelt. They also make small quantities of a straight chardonnay, a gorgeous Eiswein and more importantly this gorgeous little sparkler which is made in the traditional champagne method with secondary fermentation occuring in the bottle.

                                                                                                                          The Kirnbauer Family

Back in 1985, Austrain wines came under serious attack when the media realised that a few Austrian winemakers were adding a chemical to their wines that was also present in anti-freeze. This chemical apparently was added to the wines to add body and some sweetness. The Austrians were accused of trying to poison the Germans who were their biggest export market at the time and it spelled disaster for their wine industry. This whole scandal was all a little exagerated as the chemical in question is actually less toxic than alcohol but the media had a field day on it and Austrian wines dropped off the radar for a while.  As a result of the scandal the Austrian government were encouraged to improve the quality of the country's wines and put many regulations into place and now 25 years later we are seeing some super wines coming out of here.

 I particularily love this wine of theirs as not only is it something diferent to offer those looking for a nice sparkling wine but also it is light and refreshing. Most sparkling wines are made from  Burgundy grape varieties or the Prosecco grape in Italy it is not so usual to come across a sauvignon blanc sparkling. It is crown closed somewhat like a beer bottle top so you don't get that same POP that you get with a champagne but it is a frizzante so has lighter bubbles than a champagne.  Served in the famous Austrain glassware Riedel (pictured right), it has a pale straw colour.It has a very fruity nose with white peach evident. It is refreshing and light in the mouth with fine bubbles. €19.99 on the shelf, a lovely summer alternative to Cava or Prosecco.

Apparently the name is a tribute to their collie-sheep dog, Cesar  who had just turned 1 when they launched this fizz back in 2002. Unfortunately they never considered the Italian meaning to the word Cesario when launching it as they now have the only sparkling wine in the world called after a Caesarean section...

Till Next Time
Clare
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