I was in Austria a couple of years ago on a beautiful autumn day… The leaves were changing, the sky was blue and although it was hot, there was a bit of autumn in the air. I was sitting in a quaint garden cafe with my husband and one of his old friends. My German is poor at best and ordering food and drinks is sometimes a challenge for me, but since we had walked to the cafe and I was very thirsty, I told the guys that I just wanted some juice to quench my thirst. I was hit with a flurry of German words and my husband assured me that the “Sturm” would fit the bill…a little sweet, but with a little zing…GREAT!

The first cup arrived…it was off-white and fizzy, slightly sweet. Very very good! Quite a thirst quencher… I ordered a second immediately and drank it almost as fast as the first. Meanwhile, the German conversation is flying over my head… my husband, his friend and even the waiter were laughing and chatting… what a nice evening. As I was getting ready to think about a possible third glass, I started to feel… well… a little silly! What’s going on? I questioned my husband thoroughly in English and threatened to banish him to the couch when he admitted that the Sturm, my tasty “juice”, actually had alcohol in it…and with the high sugar content it can really pack a punch. WOW! Talk about toasting!

Sturm is fermenting high-alcohol grape juice. It is only on sale for a few weeks in the Austrian wine regions and must be consumed quickly as it cannot be preserved. Actually, if it is sold in the bottle, it will not be corked because it is still fermenting. Sturm comes in white or red and marks the official start of fall for many of the locals. The next question that came to mind was food and wine pairing… what do you eat with Sturm? Everyone at the table seemed to agree that sausage (or sausage) goes really well with it and I topped it off with a side of German potato salad…absolute heaven! I guess anything heavy or carb-laden pairs pretty well with Sturm. My good friend Claudia from Austria, who is a vegetarian, swears that black bread and a cheese plate are fantastic with cold Sturm.

I can see why many tourists now choose to come to Austria and visit the wine country during the fall season instead of going to Germany for Oktoberfest. I’ve been to both and they each have their distinct personalities, but I guess I’m a wine and food pairing “junkie” at heart.

At the end of our heavy meal, my husband ordered the traditional schnapps for the whole table, but that’s another story! Food Wine Pairing is quite an adventure… go out and enjoy! HEALTH!