Happy the info is of use Otto. All of these were cold contacts from the website email. I initially contacted them around 6 weeks in advance. Everyone responded although some, understandably, took a little time and/or asked if I was ok to wait until a week or two before to confirm the time as it would depend on what else was happening at the winery (August holidays, bottling etc).
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Nikolaihof was a great experience and the wines were very good in a very special place. Alzinger was solid but not a special experience, the wines were also very nice. I got a reply from almost every producer I emailed.
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Ok, great! So for the most part it sounds more like how it was when we were asking for visits for our trip to Portugal (as opposed to our trip to Burgundy / Rhône, where many producers didn’t even answer, and most of those that did, declined).
I guess all we need to do is to ensure the producers that we are serious wine people and not just some random visitors. For example we simply skipped the producers on our Portugal trip who offered us just generic, pre-priced enotourism packages at the winery restaurant, and opted to visit those producers who went the trouble to actually show us around and explain what they do. Some of those names that were dropped from our itinerary were producers I would’ve loved to visit, but still I’d rather connect with producers who take us seriously and don’t lump us with random tourists who are looking for buzz!
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Another name for Burgenland: Ernst Triebaumer. No idea about visiting, but best Austrian reds I’ve ever had. Also, there seem to be a few different Triebaumers, so if you are heading this way, make sure it is Ernst.
Have visited Austria wine regions 3x now, mostly focused on Styria with some time in Burgenland. Always taken by the thoughtfulness of Austrian winemakers. Also certainly a country that has incredible QPR for food and wine.
For Burgenland - Heinrich, Schiefer and Triebaumer. Uwe Schiefer speaks excellent English. I am still pretty blown away Blaufrankisch isn’t getting more love as one of the world’s great wines of place for aging.
If the irresistible draw of Styrian Sauvignon Blanc draws you south - Sepp Muster, Andreas Tscheppe, Tement, Gross
and Sabathi are all excellent and beautiful. A meal at Thaller is alone worth the trip south. Those guys have stars coming their way soon.
Look forward to hearing a follow up from the trip!
Weingut Gross
Uwe Schiefer
Heinrich
Ried Nussberg
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Spot on. I’ll look forward to the trip report!
It took me a while to learn, but I’ve arrived at the same approach as you. It is fun to visit the heroes but even if I love the wines, it’s often not the best use of my trip to drink the same wines I can drink at home while learning the same info I can read online.
Yeah, well, things might be a bit different with us, since we live in a country with an alcohol monopoly system. The selection of Austrian wines here is lousy and alcohol is pretty expensive here, so if we want to get something, we either need to source the bottles abroad ourselves, or then find online wine shops that are willing to deliver to Finland!
So in that sense visiting producers we love is an opportunity we don’t want to miss - but as you said, I do find equal values in finding producers I haven’t heard of before, or have tasted only to very limited extent. Especially if they are as happy to show us around as we are excited to be there!
I’ve had only one Triebaumer - a sweet wine from the 1990’s clocking in at 15,5% - but it was surprisingly good, all things considered! I’m happy to hear they make good reds - although I have no idea how extensively you have tasted Austrian reds, so I don’t know how good a recommendation “best Austrian reds I’ve ever had” is! 
I’m pretty familiar with Heinrich - IIRC I’ve also posted some tasting reports on our Heinrich-themed tastings - and while they can be outstanding when they are at their best, I do find them a bit uneven as a whole.
Schiefer seems promising, but they seem to be situated a bit outside the core of the region where all the other producers are located. We shall see!
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I can highly recommend Von Der Vogelwaide - Located at Wachau but such a more modern take on winemaking compared to the peers.
Thanks for the tip, but I think we are after more traditional than “modern” wines - especially when it comes to Wachau and Kamptal! 
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Now that our dear greedy friend Otto has flouted the rules long enough to get the responses he wanted (LOL), and for the comments to peter off, can @moderators move this thread to Travel and Wine Tourism where it belongs, and where people will likely look for it in the future?
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