Austria

Austria may not be the first country that comes to mind when you think about wine. It might not even be the fifth country you think of. But Austria is definitely a country you should keep in mind for both whites and reds. The most common wine associated with Austria is the white grape variety of Grüner Veltliner - but there’s so much more than just that. 

Not only is the country producing world class wines, they’re also extremely progressive when it comes to implementing biodynamic and natural winemaking processes!

The main white grapes you find in Austria are Grüner Veltliner (the most popular, as I noted above), Welschriesling (not to be confused with Riesling) and then Riesling (not as commonly planted). The Grüner grape is what’s given Austria its mark of difference in the wine world, and this grape can produce some complex whites with proper vineyard and winemaking techniques. Welschriesling can produce simple and fresh dry white wine, but more interestingly, because of its susceptibility to botrytis, there’s potential for some amazing sweet wine with this grape. 

The main black grape varieties that you can find in the country include Zweigelt, which is a cross between the Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent grapes. And then, not surprisingly, Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent are the other two main black grapes. Zweigelt is the most widely planted and it can produce wines that are smooth with rich red berry flavours. In comparison, Blaufränkisch typically produces high acid red wine with notes of sour cherries and white pepper. The St. Laurent grape is actually from the same family as Pinot Noir and the resulting wines will let you know how closely they’re related. 

Because of Austria’s proximity to the Alps, the climate is a relatively constant cool continental one; and there’s much less variation in climate than in other regions of Europe which makes Austria pretty dependable for wine production. 

Austria has four main regions: Niederösterreich, Burgenland, Steiermark and Wien. However, the first two regions are where a vast majority of wine production is done - so we’ll dive into those. 

Niederösterreich

In lower Austria, this is the largest region for exports and production of white wines. There are 8 subregions within Niederösterreich, with the two most renowned being Wachau and Weinviertel DAC*. Wachau is known for excellent versions of Grüner Veltliner and Riesling because of the steep vineyards that face south along the Danube River. Wines from Weinviertel DAC can only be made with the Grüner grape, and here there are two levels to the DAC. Klassik which means the wines have to be made in a light, fresh style with no oak characteristics. And then there’s Reserve, where there’s a higher minimum alcohol requirement along with the allowance to be aged in oak. 

Burgenland

This region is best known for its sweet wines and red wines, although you can find dry white wines produced here too. The proximity to Neusiedlersee (a large, shallow lake) creates ideal conditions to promote botrytis in the Welschriesling grape, which are typically planted at lower elevations to take advantage of the autumn mists from the lake. Red wines from Burgenland are typically planted on higher elevations, and Zweigelt is the most commonly planted. 

*DAC status - this refers to an area where the producers have agreed on grapes, style of wine, and a set of regulations that go along with it, that best represent the area.