Last week, I had the pleasure of attending a trade event featuring Monika Caha Selections’ Austrian Wine Portfolio at Telepan restaurant. The event began at 11:30, whereby we were invited to begin tasting through Monika’s portfolio. I had tasted through 29 wines before we were called to sit for lunch, missing out on four red wines and two dessert wines.

The represented wines included those from: Johann Donabaum, Forstreiter, Fritsch, Graf Hardegg, Anita & Hans Nittnaus, Stadlmann and Weninger. The white wines featured were Gruner Veltliners, which is the iconic grape of Austria, along with Rieslings and one Viognier (which came as a surprise to me). With one exception (Graf Hardegg’s Weisse Reserve vom Schloss), all of the wines were single varietals. The featured reds were less homogenous with Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, St. Laurent and Pinot Noir available to taste.

As we retired to the dining room for lunch, we selected two adjacent seats at a booth, at which a gentleman had staked his claim to the other two. Upon being seated, we introduced ourselves and made the acquaintance of Howard Goldberg (wine journalist for the New York Times) and David Rosengarten (food, wine and cooking authority). They were both charming company.

The five-course luncheon was expertly executed, with each course paired with one – two wines, making 37 wines my grand total for the afternoon. I was particularly pleased with the Egg in a Hole, which was a dish featuring a fried egg, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, wild spinach and toasted garlic. All in all, it was a lovely afternoon, with the opportunity to taste a wonderful collection of Austrian wines and gain additional evidence as to how well these wines pair with food.