About Austrian wine

20 years ago, shortly after the earthquaking „Glykol-Wine-Scandal”, and a totally new orientation to quality, the rocket-like rising of the Austrian wine began with a Chardonnay of Willi Bründlmayer from Langenlois and a Blaufränkisch of Ernst Triebaumer from Rust voted the „best wines in the world”.
In these days a big surprise, nowadays standard. Austrian wines you now will find at top of any international challenge, even beating the best of the best!
For the first time ever in 2009 Robert Parkers influental „Wine Advocate” rated a 2007 vintage Austrian red wine ( a Blaufränkisch from winery Moric from Neckenmarkt) with 95 points (= „extraordinary”), which usually only wines like French Grand Crus ever reach (in all 11 whites, 4 sweet ones, and this only red had been rated 95, 2 whites and 1 sweet reached 96, and 3 whites from the Wachau even 97!)).
And this is just another confirmation of the so called „Austrian red wine wonder”, as the white wines already had been world famous, especially the very dry „Riesling” and „Grüner Veltliner” out from the Wachau (the Danube valley) from highly decorated families such as Pichler, Hirtzberger, Knoll, Prager and the sweet dessert wines from the lake Neusiedler See (for many times since 1995 the late Alois Kracher from Illmitz received the title „Sweet Winemaker of the Year”).
But this little country has so much more to offer for every winelover, and this is what this very special trip will hold for you!
From the lake Neusiedlersee to the Weinviertel to the Kamptal and Wachau, to the Wagram and Traisental to Thermenregion and Wien, you will get to know half of the 18 DAC regions of Austria in a perfectly organized and very relaxed journey, which also will introduce you to the cultural highlights of each region!

Facts & Figures: Viniculture in Austria

The vineyards in Austria cover 51,000 hectares which, for the most part, lie in the east and southeast of the country. Amongst the wines produced here, white wines unquestionably make up the larger portion – cultivated in 70% of the vineyards are 22 white wine varieties permitted for high quality wine production. Nevertheless, red wine (13 varieties) has come to represent 30% of the vineyards in recent years.

Austria as a wine producing country is divided into four wine-growing areas: ‘Weinland Österreich’ comprises the federal states of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) and Burgenland with a total of 12 wine regions; ‘Steirerland’ with its three Styrian wine regions, and ‘Wien’ (Vienna), Austria's capital, which comprises 700 hectares of vineyards. The other states of Austria are collectively referred to as ‘Bergland Österreich’ (mountain country Austria), where small vineyards are thinly scattered.

The average harvest yields around 2.5 million hectolitres of wine, the largest part of which is consumed in Austria. Although Austrians consume 73% of their own production, exports have increased considerably over the past years.

Austria has approximately 20,000 small wine producing estates, many of whose financial existence is based on the selling of wine directly on the premises. However, more than half of the wine growing country features estates with over 5 hectares of vineyards, with most of these highly competitive export-wise. Wine estates regarded as large, according to an international standard (consisting of more than 200 hectares), are rare in Austria.

Austrian wines are certainly high in quality. Approximately two thirds of the wines are Qualitätswein, with some of these belonging to the best white, red and sweet wines in the world.

Austria Wine Marketing Board