The famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was a fun-loving, sensual person and appreciated wine. He liked to visit the district of Grinzing in the 19th Viennese district of Sievering, which is also very well-known among tourists, where there were already many Heurigen (Buschenschanken) at that time. His passion for wine is underpinned by letters to his family. For example, he wrote to his wife Constanze "... from (the) Latin letter I notice that you do not drink wine - that is not right with me (...)". His love of drinking seems to have been quite pronounced, at least at times, for his father Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) wrote him the following warning lines: "(...) Only I ask you, my dear Wolfgang, not to make any excess. The strong wines and much wine drinking is harmful (...)".
Mozart, like so many other artists, is said to have used wine as a positive stimulant in the composition of his works. One of his favourite wines was the Hungarian Tokay, among others. In Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni", the Italian wine made from Marzemino, which was very popular in Wien (Austria) at the time, was praised with the exclamation "Versa il vino! Eccellente Marzemino!" a musical monument was set to this grape variety. Mozart's compositions are used by some winemakers as a positive influence or quality-improving tool in the vineyard and cellar, although this is more in the realm of esotericism (see Music in Winemaking).
Mozart: Barbara Krafft, Public domain, Link
Tokay: By Eszencia.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Marzemino: M.I.P.A.F - National Vine Certification Service
