Austria Flashcards
What are Austria’s 4 main wine regions?
- Niederösterreich
- Wien (Vienna)
- Burgenland
- Styria
what are the 3 most important subregions of Niederösterreich?
- Wachau
- Kamptal
- Kremstal
austria’s easternmost wine growing area borders what country
hungary
Austria’s wine growing regions are in which half of the country?
a. western half
b. eastern half
b. eastern half
what is Austria’s largest wine growing region?
niederösterreich
why aren’t wine regions in the western half of Austria?
because the Alps are too rugged and too high in elevation to support grape grwoing
what is the climate of Austria?
continental
are there any climate moderators for Austria’s wine growing regions?
The Danube River and its tribuaries
what is the landscape of Austria?
rolling foothills, with most vineyards being planted on slopes facing the Danube.
what are the white grapes of Austria?
grüner veltliner
riesling
what distinctive aroma can you find on most grüner veltliner?
white pepper
what are the red grapes of Austria?
blaufränkisch
st.- laurent (also spelled sankt Laurent)
zweigelt
what are the parent grapes of Zweigelt?
Blaufränkish x St. Laurent
Wachau is home to many of Austria’s top vineyards. these top vineyards are planted on:
a. flat riverbanks of the Danube
b. steep slopes overlooking the Danube
b. steep slopes overlooking the Danube
grapes destined for inexpensive wines are planted where?
a. steep hills
b. flatter plains
b. flatter plains
Austrian wine styles are typically:
a. bone dry or very sweet, nothing in between
b. bone dry to very sweet, and everything in between
a. Bone dry or very sweet, nothing in between.
Off-dry styles of wine really do not exist in Austria
for the most part, white wines in Austria do or do not see new oak?
What about the reds?
- white wines generally do not see new oak
- red wines from Burgenland will sometimes see new oak
austrian wines WITHOUT geographic indication are called:
wein
austrian wines WITH geographic indication have 4 classification levels:
- landwein (PGI)
- Qualitätswein (PDO)
- Districtus Austrian Controllatus (DAC)
- Prädikatswein (PDO)
austrian landwein is:
a. usually exported
b. seldom exported
b. seldom exported
landwein wines are Austrians’ everyday table wines
what is the DAC?
a subset of qualitätswein that focuses on dry wines. it also only allows certain grapes, like riesling and Grüner Veltliner, to be classified as DAC
austrian Prädikatswein focuses on what style of wine?
sweet styles, such as eiswein, BA and TBa
wat does Niederösterreich translate to in English?
lower austria
what wine style does niederösterreich focus on?
white wines made from riesling and Gruner Veltliner that are dry and unbaked of high quality
what river (and Danube tributary) flows through Kremstal?
the Krems River
what river (and Danube tributary) flows through Kamptal?
the Kamp River
What river flows through Wachau?
the Danube River
which Niederösterreich subregion is known for having most of the top producers and vineyards?
wachau
Wachau classifies its dry wines with its own classification system.
what are those 3 classification levels?
- steinfeder (lightest)
- federspiel
- Smaragd (richest)
what is steinfeder named after
a grass that grows in wachau’s vineyards
what is steinfeder’s maximum abv
11.5%
it’s a very light bodied wine
what is federspiel’s abv range?
11.5 - 12.5%
medium bodied wine
what is smaragd’s minimum abv?
12.5%
fullest body and richest texture of the three, intense and dry
what is smaragd wine named after?
a brightly coloured, emerald lizard found in Wachau’s vineyards
smaragd wines can sometimes be after by which rot?
botrytis
grapes destined for smaragd are harvested at … ripeness
spälese ripeness
