My Wine Adventures In Burgenland Continue.

The local Vinothek.

There is a Vinothek in Eisenberg that has been in my peripheral vision every day since we moved here. We have lived here for almost three years and have either driven or walked past it. It is on the road to where we live after all. To be honest, it took me a while to realize what it actually is. Vinothek to me sounded like a bar or possibly a fancy French restaurant.

Asking a trusted source; my parents, what it is, I discovered that it is a co - op of sorts. A place where all the local wine makers sell their wines. Sell them at a reasonable price that is. Even though it is a shop, it gets manned by the various vintners. Imagine being served in your wine cellar / shop by a top vintner. A huge plus. A huge honour. A huge fountain of wine knowledge.

Entering the home - loop of my walk yesterday afternoon ( at about 4.30 ) it took me past this place. A few steps on, I literally stopped in my tracks and went back to the front door. Ostensibly to see the opening times. Looking through the window, I could see the tables were set up and noticed that it was open. Thinking of you dear readers, I ventured in. In my old walking sweats, cap and raincoat to boot.

The vintner on duty was kneeling on the floor checking out some bottles. When he heard me and got up, I saw it was one of the vintners I know. Well, know is a bit of a stretch as I had just had a few words with him at the last Weinkost. But I know that he is one of the Big Kahuna's.

" Hi, I just wanted to see what this place looks like on the inside. A bit of a snoop really! "

" Hello, come in and taste some wine."

Good golly, wow. Of course I put up a bit of a fight and told him that I still had to walk home. That of course was met with a smile and a

" That is even better because you don't have to drive. "

Look, I held out for at least 10 minutes. It was so amazing to see the various wines on display. A great selection of our area. Some of the names on the labels were from neighbours or folk that I know. Awesome, and I meant that literally. When you see the finished product on display looking all fancy and professional, one becomes in awe of the vintner when you meet them at a local do or in the local shop .

This vintner is such a nice guy and to top it off he has just become a new Dad the week before. Such a grand occasion needed to be toasted. Any wine lover out there will know how cool the next part was. Basically all the wines for sale were also there for tasting. He asked me what type of wine I like and he unerringly went for the treasure in the selection. It's not everyday that a vintner chooses the wine for you.

There are quite a few tables in this Vinothek and one can also use it to do a consolidated wine tasting. He told me that they do charge 80 cents per glass of wine tasted. If it was for free, we might all hang out in there permanantely and the poor wine estates would hardly make a profit.

We had a nice conversation and I tasted a local white and a local red wine. Very nice. I dare say that I walked home with a bit of a swagger...

On the 31st of May, they have their " Tag der offenen Tür " basically it means that all wines for sale can be tasted for free. Plus if you buy any bottles, all wines will be less 10 % on that day...Vinothek Eisenberg

Biggi