Klaus Wittauer.
Former sommelier and wine merchant, Klaus has spent more than two decades helping Americans get to know the fine wines of his home country, Austria.
Klaus was born in Austria and trained at the Hotel/Restaurant Management School in Salzburg. He worked for years in some of the world’s top restaurants in Austria, Bermuda, and the United States, including L’Auberge Chez François in Great Falls, Virginia, where he began traveling back to France and Austria to deepen his knowledge of wine.
In 1996 he became the wine buyer for Sutton Place Gourmet, traveling extensively through Europe. The more he tasted, the more he wondered why so many excellent Austrian wines were nowhere to be found in the United States. He set out to change that.
In 2000, working for the distributor Select Wines, Klaus met grower Anton Bauer at the VieVinum International Wine event in Vienna. He invited Bauer to dinner to talk about export, and Select Wines began importing his wines soon after. As Grüner Veltliner caught on with chefs and sommeliers in New York, Klaus knew he had to keep expanding the portfolio.
Today, KW Selection represents growers from nearly every wine region in Austria: Leo Hillinger from Burgenland, Gustav Strauss from Styria, Martin Mittelbach from the Wachau, Weingut Steininger from Kamptal, Proidl and Müller-Grossmann from Kremstal, Steindorfer from Neusiedlersee, Christina and Franz Netzl from Carnuntum, Jalits from Eisenberg, Silvia Heinrich from Mittelburgenland, Heinrich Hartl from the Thermenregion, Florian Bauer and Paul Direder from Wagram, and Mathias Ruttenstock from the Weinviertel. Klaus stays close to every grower in the book, and keeps building distribution across the country.
“To find good wines which are affordable, delicious and memorable.”
Where to find Austrian wines.
We work with a small group of distributor partners across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. If your state isn’t listed, ask Klaus directly. He handles most trade accounts personally.
Virginia
Vermont & other states
North Carolina
Maryland / DC / Southern Virginia
Virginia
New York / New Jersey
Maine
Georgia
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
14000 Willard Rd., Suite 3, Chantilly, VA 20151
703-631-8100
Contact: Klaus Wittauer, 703-624-6628
P.O. Box 4526, White River Junction, VT 05001
802-299-7896
Contact: Rafael Flores and Winthrop Pennock
Importer and distributor based in Vermont. Also sells KW Selection wines in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Georgia and Wyoming.
3300 Lake Woodard Dr., Raleigh, NC 27604
919-850-9463
Contact: John Lambrakis
7721 Fullerton Rd., Springfield, VA · 4811 Beech Pl., Temple Hills, MD
703-455-1200 / 301-702-3000
Contact: Sanford Dickerson
331 Victory Road, Winchester, VA 22602
540-722-9228
Importer and distributor in Virginia
Carries four KW Selection producers: Hartl, Proidl, Ruttenstock and Silvia Heinrich.
Hartl · Proidl · Ruttenstock · Silvia Heinrich · All Kysela wine brands
15 Foss Road, PO Box 1936, Lewiston, ME 04241
207-400-6515
Contact: Tabitha Perry
1165 Allgood Road, Suite 18, Marietta, GA 30062
404-969-8713
Contact: John Sholota
195 McGregor Street, Suite 325, Manchester, NH 03102
603-935-5099
Contact: David Haley
593 Centre Street #3, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
917-597-8722
Contact: Oscar Hernandez
80 Vineyard St., Pawtucket, RI 02860
401-316-1929
Contact: Steve Wynn
307-733-3301
Contact: John Brazinski
Open a trade account
Restaurants, retailers and distributors: reach out for pricing sheets and allocations.