12 - Austria Flashcards
Describe the climate of Austria (4)
Outline how its regions differ (3)
- E →Danube + Pannonian
- Cool, continental → Spring frost, winter freeze
- Water stress in low rainfall years → poor soil
Nierderosterreich
- Weinvirtel - cool breezes from N + Alps
Burgenland
- warmer → Pannonian plain
- Neusiedlersee → moderation + mist
Steiermark
- warmed via Adriatic wind
- hail
What are two most common soil types and which varieties are usually planted on them?
Which other soil types are present?
- Thin soil over rock e.g. granite or gneiss → Riesling
- Richer soil e.g. loess → Gruner (needs more water)
Other:
limestone, schist, gravel, volcanic
Outline trends in vineyard management including:
- training systems
- methods of harvesting
Training
Lenz Moser:
- cordon, high trained
- enables machine harvesting
- low maintenance
- best suited to high vol
Guyot with VSP → become more popular → focus on q. production
Harvesting
Machine harvest popular
→ Not for steep vineyards
Why is the % of organic vineyards relatively high?
14% organic + 9% sustainable
- Moderate rainfall
- Low disease pressure
Compare max and average yields
Max 67.5
Ave 49 → focus on quality
Describe the characteristics of Gruner Veltliner
- Needs water → loess soil
- Very vigorous → soil type, canopy mngt
- Thick skins
- rotundone
- highish acid
- Citrus, green fruit, acceptable-good, inexp
- Pronounced peach, ageable, VG-out, prem
Describe the characteristics of Zweigelt
- Early ripening
- High y
- Vigorous
- potassium deficiency→ wither before ripening→ crop loss
- Resistant to frost, rot
- Med(+) acid, med tannin, red fruit
- range from fruity and unoaked of acceptable-good/inexpensive-mid
- to full-bodied, oaked + very good/premium
Describe Welschriesling and the related regions/styles
- High acid
- Neutral
Steirermark - fresh, neutral, unoaked, dry, acceptable-good, inexp
Neusiedlersee - BA or TBA with high acid, pronounced tropical and dried fruit, VG-outstanding and prem
- Sekt
Describe Blaufränkisch
- Early budding / late-ripening
- generally only in Burgenland
- Thick skin → rot →Neusiedlersee
- High y
- pronounced black fruit, oak, high tannin
- Leithaberg DAC and Mittelburgenland DAC prime
Describe where Riesling is planted in Austria and the styles of wine it produces?
- Niederösterreich
- Best on warm sites + thin soils
- Dry, high acid, med abv, full body, stone + tropical, nuts, honey + petrol → age
- VG-out, prem
Describe the typical winemaking process for white wines (6)
Aim: preserve fruit + varietal character
- Skin-contact optional → aromas and flavour extraction
- Neutral vessel with temp control
- Malo blocked
- No new oak
- Fine lees for 6 months → texture
Describe the typical winemaking process for red wines (3)
- Large open-top vessels w/ p.d and p.o
- Some ambient yeast
- Maturation in larger SST/old oak
- new oak occasionally
- acacia (no vanilla)
Outline Austria’s wine hierarchy of geographic indicators
- Wein – No Gi
- Landwein – (PGI)
- Qualitätswein – (PDO) - 90% - gov’t inspection for quality
- Klassik: vintage and varietal character
- Reserve: 13% ABV (dry)
- Pradikatswein: same as Germany excl Kabinett + including Ausbruch
- DAC 16 regions introduced in 2002
Outline the DAC system
Regionally Typical Qualitätswein – DAC
- 16 DACs
- Permitted varieties only
- typicity test via tasting panel
- Q. hierarchy:
- Gebietswein - regional
- Ortswein - village
- Riedenwein - single v
What are the two producer groups attempting to certify quality?
Outline the TM systems they have created.
- Österreichische Traditionsweingüter
- group of producers → classify vineyards based on soil type + climate
- 81 Erste Lage vineyards which may display 1ÖTW on label(dry)
- Application to include in law has been made
2. Vinea Wachau
Wachau, SV based on soil + climate
Registered TM for classifications of dry white wine:
- Steinfeder – Fruity, 11.5% → lightest
- Federspiel – more concentrated 11.5–12.5%
- Smaragd – Highly concentrated with ripe fruit flavours, 12.5%