Austria Flashcards
Name the 4 large wine growing areas
- Niederösterreich
- Wien
- Burgenland
- Styria
Austria location & general aspect & climate
- Central Europe, SE of Germany & NE of Italy
- winegrowing region covers the entire eastern border
- Rolling foothills East of the Alps
- steep, terraced vineyards overlooking the Danube River & its tributaries, also some vast plains in lower-lying areas
-Continental, cold winters & very warm summers. Moderated by the Danube River & its tributaries
blau
blue
grau
gray
weiss
white
burgunder
from burgundy
lese
harvest
auslese
select harvest
beere
berry
trocken
dry
ried
single vineyard
wein
wine
when/who/ how was Zweigelt created
1922 by Dr. Fritz Zweigelt, a cross between Bläufrankish & Sankt Laurent
-controversy surrounds the naming of the grape as he was a strong German nationalist and supported the Austrian nazi party
the 3 most important white grapes in Austria
Gruner Veltliner:
- produces a range of styles from sparkling Sekt, refreshing, dense, & powerful
- small, thick-skinned berries
Riesling
- generally produced in a dry style in Stainless steel or neutral oak
- the most revered examples come from Wachau, Kamptal & Kremstal
Sauvignon Blanc
- examples from the mountain vineyards of Styria have received international acclaim
the 3 most important red grapes of Austria
Zweigelt
- high yielding variety, buds early & ripens before Blaufränkish
- aka Blauer Zweigelt, Rotburger
Blaufränkish “Blue Frankish”
- needs warmth & time, budding early & ripening late.Oak usage varies by producer but usually moderately used when implemented
Sankt Laurent
- plantings continue to increase in recent years due to the early ripening reliability
- hardy overall, especially against frost but needs irrigation in hot vintages
- does not adapt well to new oak
Weissburgunder
Pinot Blanc
Austrian general vinification
Wines are either very dry or very sweet, there is no tradition of off-dry styles
New oak is rarely used for white wine production
What is the KMW
- defined by a minimum ripeness at harvest measured by the Klosterneuburg Must Weight Scale (KMW)
- 1 degree on the scale is equal to 1 gram of sugar per 100 grams of must
What are the 4 levels of the Austrian wine classification system
Wein
Landwein (PGI)
Qualitätswein (PDO): wine from a single weinbaugebiet & made with grapes that are among the 40 approved varieties
-focus is on dry wines
-Kabinet
-Sekt
Prädikatswein (PDO): late-harvest categories are based on must weight
-focus is on sweet wines
-Spätlese
-Auslese
-Beerenauslese (BA)
- Eiswein
- Strohwein
- Ausbruch
-Trockbeerenauselse (TBA)Qualitätswein Kabinett
- wine may not be chaptalized
- different than German categorization of Kabinett in Prädikatswein
- rarely seen on Austrian wine labels
- maximum allowance for RS on 9 g/l
Describe Qualitätswein Sekt
- Sekt: most basic level, allows for a variety of production methods & varieties sourced from anywhere in the EU
- Austrian Sekt: grapes must be sourced from within Austria, various production methods
Name & Describe the three tiers of Austrian Sekt
Klassik: fruit must be sourced from a single federal state w/in Austria, all production methods, dosages, colors & styles are permitted
Reserve: must be sourced & produced in a single federal state using traditional method
Gross Reserve: must be produced from grapes harvested & pressed w/in a single municipality and produced in the traditional method w/ additional aging requirements
Eiswein & must weight
-must be frozen on the vine, no artificial freezing allowed
25
Strohwein & must weight
produced from grapes dried on straw mats for a min of three months
25
Ausbruch & must weight
specialty of Rust in Burgenland
30
TBA must weight
30
Spätlese must weight
19
Auslese must weight
21
Beerenauslese (BA) must weight
25
DAC (Districtus Austria Controllatus)
- developed in the early 2000s
- wines will not show notes of botrytis or wood & tend to be crisp, fresh & light
DAC Reserve: might show influence of botrytis or oak & be richer than DAC wines on the palate. Requires a higher minimum ripeness at harvest & longer aging before release
- as of 2020 there are 16 DAC
Three tiers: Gebietswein, Ortswein, Riedenwein
What are the three tiers of DAC
Gebietswein
Ortswein
Riedenwein
What is Gebietswein
Gebietswein is a the first tier of DAC : regional wine labeled by weinbaugebiet from approved varieties.
What is Ortswein
Ortswein is the second DAC tier
- equivalent to a village wine. Fruit is sourced from a smaller area within a village or a single vineyard site
What is Riedenwein
Riedenwein is the third tier of DAC
- describes wine from a single vineyard & made w approved varieties
Rotburger
synonym of Zweigelt
what is the largest wine producing region
Lower Austria aka Niederösterreich
what percentage is white varieties in Niederösterreich
75%
how many sub-regions of Niederösterreich
8
name the 3 geographical factors of Niederösterreich
- Central Eastern Alps
- Danube River
- Pannonian Plan
Describe the effect the Central Eastern Alps have on Niederösterreich
- AKA Austrian Alps
- extension of the same mountain range that influences regions in France, Italy, Switzerland, & Germany
- help limit frost damage, heavy cold air & moisture are unable to collect on slopped vineyards & frost falls to valley floors
- foothills provide shelter from the Alps high volumes of precipitation (which could lead to fungal disease)
- hills allow for greater luminosity which helps the phenolic development of grapes
Describe the Danube’s effect on Niederösterreich
- moves through Austria from W to E, providing ideal vineyard sites on both the North & South Banks
- offers protection against frost by absorbing & releasing heat during the growing season
describe the effect of the Pannonian Plain on Niederösterreich
- aka the Carpathian Basin
- plain brings warm, dry winds blowing westward which aids in drying out vineyards & provides additional warmth to facilitate ripening
- high concentration of glacial deposit based loess, a very fine soil material that the winds carry to Niederösterreich
- loess is low in nutrients & drains readily, great for viticulture
Niederösterreich main sub regions
- Kremstal DOC- located in the valley of the Krems river
- Kamptal DOC- coatend in the valley of the Kamp river
- Wachau DOC- located on a narrow band of steep slopes along the banks of the Danube. Has its own quality system
Wachau (location, aspect, climate)
Location:
- NW part of Lower Austria, along the Danube.
- spans from the town of Spitz eastward
- most plantings on the north bank of the river
Aspect:
- 40% of vineyards are held in place by dry stone terraces, very steep sites (terraces built 1,000 yrs ago)
- southern exposure
Climate:
- Danube moderates this severe continental climate against large temp swings & lowers risk of frost,
Wachau grapes & styles
-Riesling & Gruner V make up 74% of plantings
What are the Wachau’s three classified categories
ALL MUST BE HAND HARVESTED
Steinfeder
Federspiel
Smaragd
What is Steinfeder?
Steinfeder is the lowest tier of Wachau quality
- lightestest & crispest wines, max ABV 11.5%
- generally sourced from vineyards closest to the river in gravelly alluvial soils.
- not usually exported
- named after a local grass that grows in the vineyard
What is Federspiel
Federspiel is the 2nd level of quality in Wachau
- fruit is usually from lower slopes of the Ridgeline
- targeted ABV of 11.5% to 12.5%
- name associated with tools used for falconry, a historical craft used to deter vineyard pests
What is Smaragd
Smaragd is the highest quality tier of the Wachau
- richest expressions of the region
- require minimum ABV 12.5%
- botrytis may be a concentration factor
- named after the small native lizards that sun themselves on the terraces (lucky lizards…)
Describe the Vineau Wachau
- peer based group that formed before DAC system was implemented
- 90% of all producers in the region are members
- they defined the 3 classifications as well as the following:
- no enrichment through chaptalization or other additives
- no concentration techniques
- no aromatization
- sourcing exclusively from Wachau vineyards
when did Wachau become DAC
2020
Kremstal Soil
Soil: gneiss, loess
Kremstal grapes & styles
Riesling & Gruner V, some Zweigelt
-dry & light in style
Österreichische Traditionsweingüter
-peer-based group of growers & producers formed in the 90s
- aim to elevate quality by evaluating the vineyards and the results wines over 20 years
- in 2010 it assigned the term erst late (1er cru) to 53 vineyards
how many erste lagen are in Kremstal
30
how many erste lagen are there in total
81
Kamptal (location, climate, soil)
Location: northward away from the Danube & is centered around the Kamp River Valley
Climate: receives warmth from the Pannonian Plain as well as counter-cooling from the nearby forest, the Waldviertel
Soil: Zöbing Formation:
-largely sandstone
Kamptal Grapes & styles
- overall production is white wine focused with only 20% red varieties planted, mostly Zweigelt
- Gruner V is main focus
- most wines are dry and several producers make Sekt here
how many erste lagen are in Kamptal
20
Name two main varieties of Burgenland
Blaufrankish & Zweigelt
Name the wine that Vienna (Wein) is mostly known for
Gemischter Satz, a white blend of up to 3 varieties
Name two wines of Austria
2019 Knoll G.V. Feserspeil Wachau
2020 Prager G.V> “Achleiten” Smaragd Wachau
