Mostviertel: perry making region in Austria

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Paul Weir
Your trip to Mostviertel should be an amazing one. Just spent some time on that link you sent. That location was recently awarded the "European Destination of Excellence" with acknowledgement of their location being "Everything Pear". You are traveling to the hottest Pear Cider tasting spot on earth! . . . Have a great time and please do post up some pics when you get back!

I am just back from the Mostviertel region of Austria, more precisely the area around the town of Amstetten.

"Most" is the word used by Austrians for the cider and perry. Usually, it is perry, but sometimes they specify: birnen most for perry, apfel most for cider. Cider culture is important enough there to give the name to the region: Mostviertel - the district or region of perry!

I was invited to attend a conference on perry pear orchards, and the Salon des Mostes - a tasting salon of Austrian perries and of some international ciders. I also had the opportunity to visit a few producers, and see their orchards.

This cider and perry culture of Austria is a very well kept secret!!! Even Austrians often don't know about it (after this, I stayed with friends in Vienna who tasted the product for the first time - they had no idea there was such perry produced in their own country)... But it is certainly something that is worth discovering. The perry is very nice, dry and clean, sharp and fruity.

I took quite a few pictures and prepared a commented diaporama that you can see here:
[picasaweb.google.com]

Claude

Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook

So cool, Claude!

Die Österreich is one of my favorite countries I've visited in Europe. Very amiable people as well. Good to see Perry is flourishing there, albeit under the radar. Great pics!

A couple questions - which varieties are common for Perry making there? How were the distilled products- are they essentially pear brandies?

Wildcat Valley Farm
Zone 8b
Olympic Peninsula Rainshadow
Port Angeles, Washington

Nick Segner Wrote:
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> A couple questions - which varieties are common
> for Perry making there? How were the distilled
> products- are they essentially pear brandies?

Among the most common:
Speckbirne and Wasserbirne, milder varieties
Dorschbirne, Grüne Pichlbirne, Rote Pichlbirne, sharper varieties
To a lesser extend, Stiegelbirne, Winawitzbirne, Landbirne, Scheiblbirne... and some 200 others!
They often do single variety perries from one of these.

What do you mean by brandy? For me, a brandy is brownish, often aged in wood, and not always dry. This is not what they do... It is rather an eau-de-vie, freshly distilled (i.e. not aged), no color, dry. Again, often single variety eau-de-vie from one of the above pear varieties.

Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook

Great photo share Claude! Really enjoyed those. Looks like a fantastic event, I wish I could have experienced that with you

I agree that brandy is traditionally an wood aged spirit with a darker brown color, but like Nick up in Washington, I see clear distilled fruit spirits often called "brandy" here in California too. For example, Clear Creek's "Pear Brandy" is indeed crystal clear.

How many bottles were you able to get shipped back home?

Cheers!

Gopher Hill Apples
Zone 8 in California

Paul Weir Wrote:
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> How many bottles were you able to get shipped back home?

None! I always travel with only "in cabin" luggage - no liquids allowed!

Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook