Wines of Austria: overview, classification and customer reviews

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

In Austria there is such an expression: "Do not drink wine - be known as a fool." This drink was highly valued in this country. In the Middle Ages was the peak of the development of Austrian winemaking. During this period, unique recipes were developed that have survived to this day. Thanks to a specially developed recipe, the whole flavor of Austrian grapes is preserved.

Austrian winemaking

On the territory of this country, the art of making wine is one of the oldest. According to archaeologists, the first mention of winemaking appears in the Bronze Age. This fact is evidenced by amphorae for wine found in Austria, dating back to 2700 BC.

The Romans first started viticulture in the second century BC. But even before that moment, people knew all the details of caring for vineyards and built wine cellars where the drink was kept at a certain temperature.

Charlemagne and Otto the Great made a special contribution to this area, they introduced a special process for registering viticulture. According to the established rules, they issued passports for people working forvineyards. This document was a pass to the vineyard, otherwise it was impossible to get into its territory. The era of the Middle Ages can be considered the heyday of winemaking in Austria.

To date, 5700 hectares of land are occupied by vineyards. With the first rays of the sun, active work begins on them. Flowering of grapes proceeds within 8-10 days. After that, the fruit is tied.

Wine in Austria is considered young from November 11 this year to November 11 next year.

Grape varieties

There are four main wine-growing regions in Austria. The first of them is Vienna, or Vienna. The area is characterized by hilly and green suburbs. This area is unique in that the vineyards are located within the city. They are located in the western part. The main grape variety grown there is Gruner Veltliner. This representative has a moderate lightness. White wine is obtained with a refined bitterness.

Burgenland is considered the second most important. The area in question is famous for its sweet and red wines. It is especially valuable for winemakers because it is one of the unique areas where noble mold appears on berries. The area in question is famous for its sweet wines and dry white wines. Among the successfully growing grape varieties, winemakers note Bouvier, Neuburger, Rulender, Furmint, Scheurebe and others. Mostly red grapes grow in this area,which has a sweetish light and mild taste.

The third famous wine region is Niederosterreich, Lower Austria. Here the vineyards are located in different sub-regions. It is in this region that the famous "Gruner Veltliner" is grown - a grape variety whose berries have a peculiar rich and refined taste. The best grape variety in this Austrian territory is considered "riesling", which is characterized by maturity, giving a rich taste to the wine. The Zierfandler grape variety is distinguished by its sweetness and is suitable for the production of white wine.

The last area famous for its light acidic wine is Styria, the southernmost part of Austria. Welshriesling, Gelber Muskateller, Müller Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Rulander, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay are grown in this area. The hilly terrain and climate result in a slightly savory taste with a slight acidity.

Classification of Austrian wines

The classification of wines from Austria is based on the amount of sugar in the finished grape drink. This indicator can be measured using a specially introduced unit - KMW. The abbreviation stands for Klosterneuburg wort weight table. 1 KMW is 1 gram of sugar per 100 grams of grape must, which is approximately equal to 5° Esclay.

Table wines:

• Landwein – min. 14° KMW;
• Tafelwein – min.13° KMW.

Quality wines:

• Kabinettwein - min. 17° KMW;
• Qualitatswein - min. 15° KMW.

High-quality wines (each with its own distinctive character):

• Ausbruch - min. 27° KMW - an overripe berry is needed, naturally raisined and affected by noble mold.
• Auslese - min. 21° KMW – grapes are hand-selected for quality, as only mature berries are needed.
• Beerenauslese - min. 25° KMW - it is necessary to use overripe berries of late harvest, sometimes affected by noble mold.
• Spatlese - min. 19° KMW - only fully ripe grapes are suitable.
• Trockenbeerenauslese (Trockenbeerenauslese) - min. 30° KMW - overripe berries are selected, subsequently naturally raisined and affected by noble mold.

Gruner Veltliner

This grape variety is considered one of the most popular in Austria and grows exclusively in this area. Berries of this variety ripen later than others. From such white grapes, wine is obtained with a bright fruity aroma of pear, grapefruit, lime. Due to the fact that the variety in question has a high acidity, over time, the taste acquires a unique sophistication.

Wine Grüner Veltliner has two distinct taste characteristics. The first is freshness and light notes of citrus. The second is sharpness, richness of taste, which is achieved through prolonged aging of the drink in a wine cellar. When the wine is ripehoney and marmalade flavors and a deep golden color can be seen in this variety.

Unique ice wine

One of Austria's trademarks is Icewine, a wine made from frost-beaten berries. As a rule, these are sweet dessert wines. When collecting and squeezing juice, the temperature must be maintained at -7 ° С.

Cold is the key ingredient in the production of this wine from Austria. The water contained in the juice freezes, but the acids and sugars do not.

The peculiarity of Icewine is that the grapes freeze naturally. While in countries with a warm climate, winemakers freeze berries artificially. In this case, the final product will clearly differ from the wine made according to the classic recipe.

This drink has a rather high price, since 15 kg of frozen grapes are needed to produce 350 ml of wine. To prepare this type of alcoholic drink, Riesling or Vidal Blanc varieties are used.

State control

In order to control the wine produced, certain packaging rules were established in Austria. On the red and white cap (according to the colors of the flag) they put the state control number, which means that the drink was bottled in this country and meets quality standards.

Austrian products go through two stages of control. The first step is to check the chemical composition of the drink. At the second stage, wine from Austria receives an assessment of a profession altasting committee. Regional representatives are also confirmed for regional typicality.

DAG wine - what's that?

The indicated abbreviation fully sounds like Districtus Austriae Controllatus. It was created in order to control the production of local regional wines. If you see DAG after the name of the wine and region, it means that this is a representative of the Austrian wine region.

In theory, every Austrian winemaker can produce fine wine from 35 declared high-quality grape varieties. But in practice, they grow only those varieties that give a high yield in their vineyards. Before you start growing a particular variety, it is necessary to take into account, in addition to wine-making factors, also marketing ones. Each wine-growing region is famous for its variety, which, due to climatic conditions, reveals the whole bouquet of taste and aroma.

Rules for drinking wine

To feel all the flavors, you need to be able to drink a grape alcoholic drink correctly. There are several rules for this:

• Hold a glass of wine by the stem with your index finger and thumb, not by the glass itself. This is because the heat from the palms can increase the temperature of the drink.
• Before drinking, it is recommended to twist the glass in your hand so that the wine touches the walls as much as possible. Watch the tint of the drink as the oily drops flow down the side of the glass.
• AfterAfter you visually evaluate the drink, take a leisurely and slow sniff of the contents of the glass. Try to catch all the shades of the aroma. Then take a small sip, inhale, and then swallow the drink.
• Wine does not always reveal its entire flavor palette in its purest form. Sometimes you should dilute the drink with mineral water. In this case, mix wine with water in a ratio of three to one.

Customer Reviews

If we talk about the opinions of ordinary people, they differ. But despite this, there are varieties of wines that are equally popular. Grüner Veltliner, Weissburgurden and Riesling have become such standard classics. All of the listed drinks are dry white wines or, as they are also called, Trocken. But sometimes they do not have time to ferment completely. Then you can feel a sweet aftertaste and see light bubbles in the glass. If you believe the reviews of wines from Austria, then for lovers of white sweet, "Eiswein" is suitable - a wine called ice. But it should be recalled that the sugar in this drink is natural, since it is made from frozen berries, almost raisins.