The Austrian wine journalist and wine critic Helmut O. Knall (*1956) alias "Knalli" had his first encounter with wine as a child, as his best friend's parents farmed vineyards in Grinzing (Wien) and Wolkersdorf (Weinviertel-NÖ). After graduating from a university course in advertising and sales, almost 20 years in advertising and public relations followed. He became a wine freak, wine journalist and "ambassador of Austrian wine" via the diversions of red wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Italy to Austria. From the beginning of the 1980s, he regularly visited the most important wine fairs in Europe, such as Vinitaly, Vinexpo in Bordeaux, ProWein in Düsseldorf or the London Wine-Trade-Fair. A first "aha experience" was a Blauer Portugieser from the very young Hannes Artner (Carnuntum-Lower Austria) vintage 1989. From then on, Knall was particularly concerned with insider tips from Austria, with the dry white wines as well as the sweet wines that have become legendary through Alois Kracher & Co.
For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.
Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien