WINE-COUNTRIES AUSTRIA

1 - Donauland - Carnuntum
2 - Thermenregion
3 - Kamptal-Donauland
4 - Wachau
5 - Weinviertel
6 - Wien
7 - Mittelburgenland
8 - Neusiedlersee
9 - Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
10 - Südburgenland
11 - Südsteiermark
12 - Süd-Oststeiermark
13 - Weststeiermark Wineries

Vineyard area: 50 thousand hectares
Total production: 2.58 million hectolitres
Annual consumption
total: 2.6 million hectolitres
per capita: 33.1 litres

Exports: 150 thousand hectolitres
Imports: 170 thousand hectolitres
Principal grape varieties: grüner veltliner, welshriesling, weißburgunder, blaufränkisch, blauer portugieser, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, gelber muskateller, müller-thurgau, neuburger, riesling, ruländer, sauvignon blanc, st. laurent, zierfandler, zweigelt. Austria’s first wine growers were Celts and Illyrians who lived around 2,000 years ago. Vineyards were systematically planted around Vienna, the present capital during the rule of the Roman warrior Emperor Probus and later Charlemagne (Karl the Great) encouraged the search for quality grape varieties and had exemplary vineyards planted. In medieval times monasteries kept the wine culture alive and at that time the vineyard area was ten times greater than it is today. During the 15th and 16th centuries winegrowing suffered badly due to numerous wars, taxes and tolls. Then, at the end of the last century vineyards were devastated by the phylloxera or vine louse and it took until after the last war to repair the damage. When vineyards were replanted the composition of grape varieties changed and many traditional vines were replaced by modern cultivars. For better or for worse whole winegrowing regions lost their original character. Central Burgenland (Mittel-Burgenland), for example has changed from white to red wine production.The break-up of the Habsburg empire brought with it profound economic difficulties and Austria’s once flourishing wine trade fell apart almost completely. Well known companies which once exported bottled wines as far abroad as the Baltic states, Moscow, Paris and northern Europe lost their markets. After the first world war Austria lost the southern part of the Tyrol, one of her main winegrowing regions, to Italy. The region is now the Italian SĂĽdtirol or Alto Adige. Parts of southern Styria (Suedsteirmark) were also lost. Because of the economic problems which ensued after both world wars it took until the 1970s and 1980s for Austria’s wine industry to recover, though once the start was made the upsurge in quality was rapid. In little more than a decade producers have made enormous strides in producing premium white and red wines and now the emphasis will need to be placed on developing marketing concepts. After an absence of almost 80 years Austrian wine looks set to return as an important player on the international stage.Geographically Austria’s vineyards form a kind of half moon to the north, east and south of Vienna and are divided into four regions Lower Austria (Niederoesterreich), Burgenland, Styria (Steirmark) and Vienna (Wien). Recently vines have been planted in Vorarlberg close to the Swiss border on the shores of Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the first results look very encouraging. Each wine-growing region is divided up into areas and here changes have taken place in recent years. Lower Austria consists of the Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal, Donauland, Wein-Viertel and Thermen-Region, Burgenland is subdivided into Neusiedler-See, Neusiedler-See Huegelland, Mittel-Burgenland and Sued-Burgenland, while Styria is made up of Suedost-Steirmark, Sued-Steirmark and West-Steirmark. Vienna’s vineyards are located to to the north-west and north of the city. The famous localities Grinzing and Neustift have become little more than tourist attractions, though wines from Heiligenstadt and Stammersdorf-Strebersdorf are well worth seeking out.Soils in these regions combine with moderately high rainfall (in the range 400-800 millimetres a year) and not excessively high temperatures to create the ideal conditions for the production of important white wines characterized by intense fruit, good acidity and natural alcohol of between 10.5 and 13.5 per cent. The most important variety is Gruener Veltliner which accounts for over 36 per cent of the total vineyard area, followed by Mueller Thurgau, Welschriesling and Weissburgunder. In addition international cultivars such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc Pinot and Gelber Muskateller - which makes a highly regarded crisp dry wine - have gained more than a foothold in many parts of the country.The general move to up-grade standards of recent years has resulted in drastic reductions of yields, especially for Veltliner, which is capable of matching and even overtaking Riesling in terms of longevity The main red wine region is Mittelburgenland. The speciality here is the local Blaufraenkisch, made either as a mono-varietal or blended with Cabernet Sauvignon. Also interesting for its reds is the small region of Eisenberg, home of very individual wines which derive their character from unusual mineral-rich soils. Wine estates are typically small or very small family-run concerns which rarely work more than 12-15 hectares of vineyard. In many cases they are managed by dynamic young producers with inside knowledge of the international wine scene who give precedence to quality over quantity. Producers in this bracket are currently aiming to expand export markets which are limited almost exclusively to neighbouring Germany.The laws governing wine production in Austria are extremely rigorous and can appear confusingly complex. Besides the definition of geographical origin, the laws regarding mono-varietals distinguish between three main categories. Qualitaetsweine are wines with minimum natural sugar of 15 per cent, content which can be increased by chaptalization to 19 per cent for whites and 20 per cent for reds. Kabinett wines, which cannot be chaptalized, can be thought of as the approximate equivalent of a special reserve.The third category, Pradikatswein, is divided into a further six sub-categories on the basis of natural sugar content from, in ascending order of concentration, Spaetlese through Auslese, Eiswein, Beerenauslese and Ausbruch to Trockenbeerenauslese. Labels may state whether a wine is sweet or dry, information which cannot be inferred from the official categorization. In order to simplify matters, in recent years many producers have begun to use the term Qualitaetswein for all dry wines and Pradikatswein for all sweet ones, leaving aside the complicated system based on must weight.