Wine Writer, Lecturer, Editor and Educator
Eunice Fried educates people about wine in many ways. She is the wine columnist of Global Traveler, director of the Annual Airline International Business Class Wine Competition, now in its 14th year, and wine editor of TravelClassics.com. She is the recipient of the Confrérie du Tastevin “Wine Writer of the Year,” Wines & Vines “Outstanding Wine Writer,” and The World of Wine “Writer of the Year” awards. Her articles on wine, food, travel and personality profiles have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, More, New York Times, Elle, Business Traveler, among many others. Ms. Fried has judged at many wine competitions and is a much sought after speaker at leading universities and culinary institutes. Her books include “Burgundy: The Country, The Wines, The People” (Harper & Row), which won three awards; and “What Every Woman Should Know About Wine” (Doubleday).

Ms. Fried, who resides in New York City, has lived in California and France and has traveled extensively throughout the vineyards of the world. More

Austrian winemaker, mother of 3
In 1907 the Gross family committed itself to wine-growing and is still a typical family enterprise. One generation infects the next with its passion for wine. In 1984 Alois Gross took over the winery from his parents and since then has been advocating his quality philosophy in the vineyards and cellar. Ulrike tends to the house and family and specializes in commented wine tastings, which take her all over the world. In her free time she loves to explore photography, gardening and architecture.

Their children Veronika, Johannes and Michael have been involved in the work process since their earliest years and are now gradually taking on operational responsibility. Alois and Ulrike Gross aim to create the best possible wines each vintage has to offer. Strict crop thinning, hand-harvested grapes and vinification individually adapted to each varietal are trademarks of the Gross wines. Their distinctive character is imparted by the soil composition and the climatic conditions of the respective vintage. Alois and Ulrike Gross like to compare their work in the vineyard to the raising of children: What does the wine need in order to develop its potential as best as possible? What can one feasibly demand of the wine?

The Gross winery is loacted in Ratsch, Styria, very close to the Austrian/Slovenien border. More

Author, Wine Writer & Educator
Lynn Hoffman holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, where he wrote about the lives of the men and women who go to sea in the American Merchant Marine. In the course of that research, he cooked on freighters and charter boats and served champagne to first-class trans-atlantic passengers. Lynn has crossed the Atlantic ocean by steam, by sail and by plane. He is looking forward to rowing next time. After a stint in the restaurant and bar business, Dr. Hoffman returned to academia where he was the founder of Drexel University’s Culinary Arts Major. He has written restaurant reviews and wine criticism for Philadelphia Weekly, Philadelphia Magazine and the Philadelphia Daily News. Dr. Hoffman conducts wine and beer tastings for members of the professional and university communities. These tastings are as well-known for their outstanding wine and beer and educational value as they are for their sheer fun. His latest novel bang BANG was published in April 2007. He is the author of the prize-winning novel Killers and 1997’s Christmas selection from HarperCollins, The Bachelor’s Cat. Killers has won awards from the Southwest Writer’s Workshop and the Washington Prize for Fiction.

He lives in South Philadelphia where he drinks homemade wine and shops in the Italian Market. More

Director Austrian Wine Marketing Board
The new director of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board has been in leading positions in all wine distribution channels from retail to export. He is also a lecturer in oenology at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna. Within the context of a rapidly changing world wine industry, his presentation of Austrian Wine broadens the horizons of everybody who works in wine. Wine lovers and professionals the world over enjoy his skill of delivering profound information with a unique sense of humor, honed in his days as a theater actor.

The son of a gastronome, he grew up in the Upper Austria region studying French and Italian. He learned his wine and food craftsmanship from the renowned wine distributor A. V. Stangl in Salzburg. Later he played a significant role in the development of the Austrian wine retail chain Wine & Co. As managing director of Freie Weingärtner Wachau he demonstrated pioneer achievements for Austrian wine at an international level. Finally, as the right hand for the Italian cult vintner Angelo Gaja, he was responsible for more than 50 export markets.

Willi Klinger is married, has two children and lives in Vienna. More

Fashion photographer
Elfie Semotan was trained as a fashion designer in Vienna. In the 1970's, she made a name for herself with the legendary Palmers "Trau dich doch" billboard series. At the same time, Semotan established her reputation as an international fashion photographer, her work appearing in publications such as Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and the New Yorker. Semotan continues to be a key player in international fashion photography; her work is closely associated with that of designer Helmut Lang. Semotan's late husband, the experimental artist Martin Kippenberger, also drew creative inspiration from her work. Semotan's portraits and photographic series may be found in art collections worldwide.

She divides her time between New York and the wine region of Burgenland in Austria. More

Austrian Winemaker
After completing a liberal arts education Katharina decided to follow in her ancestor’s footsteps and turn her inherited affection for excellent wines into her profession. She is currently studying viticulture, oenology and wine economics at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna. Besides her studies and practical trainings in other wineries, she is involved in her family’s estate “Lackner-Tinnacher,” an excellent Austrian winery rich in tradition. She is learning her trade alongside her father, and together they manage 50 acres of their Styrian vineyards. Her other responsibilties include to represent the fine and elegant wines of the estate all over the world, which will lead her this fall to New York.

The Lackner-Tinnacher winery is located in Gamlitz, in the southern part of Styria called “Südsteiermark” and their signature wine is a delicious “Sauvignon Blanc”. More

Architect
Swiss-born, New York-based architect Christian Wassmann is the principal of Christian Wassmann Design in SoHo. Before opening his own office in 2005 he worked as Project Architect at Steven Holl Architects for 5 ½ years - his major accomplishments include the Loisium Hotel, Wine & Spa Resort and Visitor Center in Langenlois, Austria and the Furniture Design for the M.I.T. Simmons Hall Dormitory. His design of the DJ booth of eastvillageradio.com in NY was nominated for the Swiss Art Award. For the past ten years he has collaborated with the artist and director Robert Wilson as well as other artists. He has been invited as a guest critic to Columbia University, The Cooper Union, Yale University as well as the University of Art and Design in Basel. He studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and the University of Art and Design in Zurich, where he graduated in 2000. He is currently working on 12 separate projects in the U.S. and Europe that range from architecture, to interior and exhibition design to furniture design. More

Austrian Winemaker
“My vision is to express what is typically Viennese through wine,” said Fritz Wieninger, leading winemaker of Vienna. “Viennese wine” and “Wieninger” are nearly synonymous. Much of the prestige of Vienna’s wines can be attributed to the work of the Wieninger family. The nearly 100 year-old winery was run exclusively as a “Heurigen” (Austrian wine taverns) business until the 1980s when Fritz Wieninger, Jr., became manager of the wine production. He now concentrates solely on discriminating, high-quality wines. Fritz Wieninger aim is to make wine that upholds all of the individual, annual characteristics of the grapes after they have fully and naturally ripened in the vineyard. He does not believe in uniform wine! The soil, the location and the microclimate in the Vienna basin interact magnificently - I am trying to develop all this through my wine. Every sip tastes of Vienna. More

Broadcaster, Author, Journalist, Food/Wine expert
Burt is presently in production with his ongoing PBS series entitled TRAVELS & TRADITIONS. Shot entirely on-location, this series travels throughout the world looking at the history, culture, customs, foods, festivals, and tourist attractions of some of the world’s most interesting locations. The New York Times described his programs as “the best food, travel, and cultural history shows on television”. He was the first recipient of the James Beard Foundation Award for “Best Television Food Journalism,” and has been nominated for two CableAce Awards and a national Emmy in connection with cultural history. His relaxed, personal and slightly irreverent style makes the programs both informative and entertaining. During his 30 years as a journalist, Burt has written or edited more than 60 books. For a number of years he authored a weekly column for The Washington Post. More

Wine Educator, Director of the Wine Association Burgenland
Christian Zechmeister (26) was born and raised in St.Georgen/Eisenstadt. He graduated from the Federal College for Wine and Fruit Growing Klosterneuburg in 2000 and in 2004 he earned his diploma degree in wines and spirits from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust in London. His education also included several internships in well-known wineries in Austria and he has also done two vintages overseas – one in the Sonoma Valley (California/USA) and one in Central Otago (South Island/New Zealand). From February 2002 till March 2007 he was the logistics manager and oenologist at the Austrian Wine Academy, he is currently employed at the Wein Burgenland. More

Owner, Executive Chef of Klee Brasserie
Daniel Angerer’s career has taken him from Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany to the kitchens of some of New York’s most elite dining establishments. Under the tutelage of some of the world’s diverse cooking luminaries such as Joel Robuchon, Heinz Winkler from Relais & Chateau Hotel, Tony May at San Domenico, Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Jean-Georges, and David Bouley at Bouley Bakery, Daniel has been able to extract and personalize his own cooking style. And now in 2007: Klee….

At Klee, Daniel operates in a cooking style known as “Cuisine Vitale”. Among its characteristics, Cuisine Vitale relies on fresh herbs and reductions for seasoning, and uses extra virgin olive oil over butter or cream. This style of cooking, as Daniel explains it, “reveals light and unmasked flavors and necessarily relies on fresh nutritional ingredients. So the traditional Wiener Schnitzel, Viennese fried chicken, and the custom made sausage on Klee’s menu, all bear the touch of Daniel’s modern hand and bestow a contemporary and original flavor. More

DO & CO New York Catering Inc. forms part of DO & CO International, with its headquarter in Vienna, Austria and started operations in the USA on December 1, 1999 by catering Austrian Airlines on its daily flights from JFK airport to Vienna. A 107,000 sq. ft. property, less than one mile from the airport was acquired for this purpose. In 2005 the existing building was completely refurbished and since then DO & CO New York represents the first and only Gourmet Kitchen at JFK. As of today, DO & CO New York has contracted nine valued airlines to provide premium in-flight catering for their flights out of JFK airport and the First Class Lounge of Emirates Airlines at Terminal 4. The company will increasingly focus on the airport lounge and event catering market in New York as well as beyond, to serve the “Best tastes of the world with services of the highest quality,” this is what characterizes DO & CO’s unique Gourmet Entertainment concept. More