On Monday I went to an Austrian wine tasting sponsored by Planet Wine in Arlington. I had never tried Austrian wines before, so I was excited to have the opportunity. The wines were mostly white with a couple of, in my opinion, too young reds thrown into the mix.

Riesling was especially popular amongst the winemakers and the taste was unique. Compared to German Rieslings, these tended to be sweeter (though, not all of them) and less flavorful. In addition to the Rieslings, there were a lot of light whites that would be good on a summer evening sitting out on a deck.

The highlight of the evening, for me, was the 1997 Steindorfer Eiswein Cuvee Klaus. I love a good ice wine and this was it. I was shocked at the vintage, a 9 year old ice wine is not something you normally see, but it was rich, with crisp flavor, and very smooth -- a perfect desert wine. The best part is that the 375 ml bottle was only $29.