Sturmzeit comes but once a year… what’s Sturm you may be wondering? Well. Sturm is the most dangerous drink in the world because it’s so delicious and you don’t taste the alcohol at all and well… doesn’t that spell trouble? Maybe, but we ARE still stuck in the dumpster fire known as 2020, so we gotta do whatever we gotta do to get through it, and if that means swimming in barrels of Sturm, sign me up!
But what IS Sturm, you might still be wondering. I didn’t really answer the question.
Sturm is a young wine, basically freshly fermented grape juice that tastes exactly like grape juice. Lovely lovely grape juice! It ferments very quickly so cannot be stored for long and has to be consumed quickly, which is why the Sturmzeit (or period that Sturm is available) is from around end of September until middle of October.
You’ll see hundreds of chalkboards popping up everywhere in Austria advertising this magical beverage. It’s usually between €3-€5 a glass. The alcohol content is pretty low and it is VERY sweet, so most people usually drink 2 to 3 glasses, but if you have a sweet tooth, you’re screwed.
My suggestion: don’t pass by any signs advertising Sturm, because if you miss out this year, you’ll have to wait another 365 days! And who knows what 2021 has in store for us… knock on wood.
Here’s to Sturm! Cheers!