Sweet wine with savory food. Burgenland botrytis meets Peking duck.

Kracher and Lake Neusiedl

The Kracher estate lies on the shores of Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland, Austria, in the middle of a national park. Gerhard Kracher explains that the many small lakes between the vineyards create the humidity that brings noble rot, letting them make botrytis wines every single vintage since the winery began.

His father, the late Alois Kracher, was one of the pioneers of the modern sweet wine revolution in Austria, and Andreas remembers him as a fantastic personality who did a lot for Austrian wine. Gerhard started working for his father as a teenager for pocket money and took full responsibility in 2007, when he was about 26.

Noble rot and the Grande Cuvée

Botrytis, or noble rot, is a good fungus. As Andreas explains, it dehydrates the grapes until they are almost like raisins, concentrating sugar, acidity and flavor. The result is the great sweet, lush wines of the world.

Gerhard's Grande Cuvée Trockenbeerenauslese is a blend of Chardonnay and Welschriesling. Chardonnay brings fruit and power, Welschriesling elegance. Andreas calls it a nectar of apricots. For Gerhard, freshness and clear varietal character matter most, and he says 95% of the work happens in the vineyard. He also pours a newer, almost dry blend of Chardonnay, Welschriesling and Scheurebe aged two years in oak, dedicated to his grandfather.

That second wine surprises Andreas, who was taught that Scheurebe is only good for sweet wines. Harvested very late, its fermentation stopped just short of dryness, leaving a hint of sugar. Gerhard's grandfather said it smelled of wild flowers. Andreas says he would find it nearly impossible to taste blind.

A quick Peking duck

A proper Peking duck takes days, so Andreas makes a home version. He dries and pierces the skin of duck legs, renders the fat, then confits the legs in duck fat with soy, ginger, garlic, clove, star anise, chili and five spice. Prunes added at the end become a rich plum sauce. The duck is served in wheat tortillas with cucumber, pickled ginger and scallions softened in butter, because Andreas dislikes raw onion with fine wine.

Gerhard reveals that Peking duck is exactly the savory dish he has loved with wines like this for years. Andreas sums up the effect: salty, spicy Asian flavors with a lush sweet wine is like pouring cream on strawberries. Crispy skin, moist meat and fresh cucumber all play against the wine's richness.

More ideas for sweet wine

Both men share unusual pairings. Gerhard loves spicy Thai food with sweet wine, and at home he opens salted popcorn with a glass, enjoying the play of salt and sugar. Italians call these vino da meditazione, meditation wines, and that is how he likes to relax.

Andreas recently paired an old Madeira with a very spicy black bean chicken. The principle is simple: heat makes tannic or dry wines taste bitter or alcoholic, while sweetness rounds everything off. Try sweet wines with blue cheese, foie gras, spicy Asian dishes or salty snacks, and serve them well chilled in small glasses.

The blind challenge

Gerhard then brings a bottle he loved when tasting with a friend, and warns it will be hard. Andreas finds lime zest, ginger, lemongrass and ripe peach with bright acidity, and makes a Swedish-style gravad lax tartare with nectarine, apple, cucumber, red onion and dill. Watch to see if he names the wine, and whether Gerhard beats his friends on the wall of fame.

Go furtherTo explore the estates, vineyards and wines of Burgenland and Austria further, the wein.plus wine guide is a great resource.