Austria

Austria is not particularly known for it's wine, but they are definitely obsessed! You will even find acres of vineyards flanking the Vienna capital city!

Most famous for it's Gruner Veltliner whites, they boast 36 official grape varietals. Blaufrankisch would be the nation's flagship red grape varietal. Its winemaking traditions have been influenced by the country's historical links with Germany, Hungary, and Ukraine, with roots going all the way back to the Roman Empire

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Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), the largest wine region in Austria, is renowned for its production of the country's most beloved wine varieties such as Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. Notably, the regions of Wachau, Kremstal, and Kamptal consistently yield top-rated wines.

Moving southward to Burgenland, the climate becomes slightly warmer, influenced by the moderating effect of Neusiedlersee Lake in Burgenland. It is influenced by the hot, continental Pannonian climate and produces the most opulent and authoritative red wines in Austria, along with complex whites and extraordinarily fine sweet wines. These warmer conditions are conducive to the production of high-quality red wines, including Zwiegelt, Blaufränkisch, and Saint Laurent.

In Styria (Steiermark), the climate is cooler, giving rise to exceptional examples of Sauvignon Blanc, a vibrant rosé known as Schilcher, and Muskateller, an aromatic yet dry Muscat Blanc wine.

Nearly all winegrowers in Vienna (Wien) produce the traditional Gemischter Satz (field blend), in which different grape varieties are grown together in the same vineyard, are harvested at the same time and turned into a single wine.

Classification

The DAC system was introduced in 2001, which has relative similaritys to the appellation system from France. It represents both a region & it's definitive wine style, and DAC Reserve is applied to weigthier wines, often due to the influence of oak or botrytis. The 9 Austrian DAC titles include

• Eisenberg DAC (Blaufrankisch)
• Kamptal DAC (Gruner Veltliner, Riesling)
• Kremstal DAC (Gruner Veltliner, Riesling)
• Leithaberg DAC (Gruner Veltliner, Weissburgunder, Chardonnay, Blaufrankisch)
• Mittelburgenland DAC (Blaufrankisch)
• Neusiedlersee DAC (Zweigelt)
• Traisental DAC (Gruner Veltliner, Riesling)
• Weinviertel DAC (Gruner Veltliner)
• Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC (traditional white blend from Vienna)

The Wachau has opted out of this system, and instead uses a 3-tier system of Steinfeder, Federspiel and Smaragd. This system is more similar to Germany's VDP