The Austria–Germany duel at VieVinum has long been one of the fair’s best-loved and most established formats. In 2026, the event will be thoughtfully refreshed: with the theme “Riesling 2022”, a fully blind tasting format and a direct audience vote, the duel gains new energy without losing its traditional appeal.
On stage, Walter Kutscher of the Vienna Sommelier Association will represent Austria, while Harald Scholl, Editor-in-Chief of VINUM Germany, will head the German team.
Across seven flights, one Austrian and one German Riesling 2022 will compete in blind tasting. All wines will be paired anonymously and served without disclosure of origin. New this year: even the two team captains, Walter Kutscher and Harald Scholl, will not know which glass belongs to which country until the wines are revealed. That makes the format fairer, more credible and more exciting.
The audience, rather than a jury on stage, will decide the outcome. After each pairing, visitors will vote immediately, and the wines will then be revealed. The result is a format that combines tradition, suspense and audience participation in a particularly vivid way.
In essence, the idea remains the same: two great wine countries meet through a grape variety that each interprets in its own distinctive style. Riesling shows just how close Austria and Germany are — and how striking their differences can be.
With this refreshed concept, VieVinum 2026 presents a familiar rivalry in a contemporary, audience-focused format.
