Waldviertel Pur

I really need to start bringing my camera with me on my walks around Vienna.

This is sort of a rehashing of an earlier post where I said the same thing, but, it still holds true.

On the 31st of August, I wandered around on my usual route and, walking through the Burggarten, stumbled upon all of these tents in the nearby Heldenplatz. Well, upon taking a closer look, I realized it was Waldviertel Pur, which is basically a big fat tourism promotion for the Austrian Waldviertel, which is close enough to Vienna that it makes sense they would try to lure city folk with the joys of "country living" such as wooden carvings, handmade baskets, a hundred different types of cured meat, and a thousand different types of cheeses.

There was also a band (don't know if they come from the Waldviertel) and brochures on hiking and other outdoor activities. But the piece de resistance was all of the food you could sample, or buy to take home. I've realized that most of these "event" situations are more or less about eating food and drinking alcohol. Plenty of delicacies to choose from: Wine, beer, and Sturm.

Yes, they have officially started selling Sturm for the season! Sturm, for those unfamiliar with the Austrian wine-making process, is wine in its very first fermentation of the year. It's a lot like grape cider, with the possibility of as much alcohol content as the wine it will become, but tastes just like juice, so you don't feel like you're drinking wine. Thus the name, "storm," which refers most undoubtedly to the hangover you get the next day...like a hurricane in your head. However, since it is only produced for a few short weeks, typically September through October each year, it is a rarity and an indulgence.

The drink, known as "must" in English, appears in other wine-making cultures. But, I ask you, where else but in Vienna would you find sturm sold in such disparate places as: 1) a traditional Kaffeehaus, 2) a ritzy restaurant in the Museums Quartier, 3) a street festival, and 4) an Aldi (Austrian = Hofer)? If you have an idea, let me know.