Austria Flashcards

1
Q

How old is the Austrian wine industry and what happened early 1900s?

A
  • Wine since the Bronze Age, influenced by Romans
  • 10-12th century: Monks brought Burgundian wine culture (e.g., in Wachau)
  • Early 1900s: Austrian wine laws were created
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2
Q

What happened in the mid-1970s and 1980s?

A
  • Small number of large producers added diethylene glycol to their wines to increase volumes and simulate sweetness
  • As a result, exports dropped from 30 to 5mn liters
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3
Q

What happened after the glycol scandal and where is Autrian wine today?

A
  • 1985: Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB) was established
  • Market recovered
  • Now: Consumers are willing to pay high prices for high quality Austrian wine
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4
Q

What is the general climate of Austria?

A

Cool continental

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5
Q

Describe how the climate in the north, south, east, and west is influenced

A
  • North: Weinviertel is influenced by cool northerly winds
  • South: Steiermark has warming influence from Adriatic
  • East (near Hungarian border): Burgenland is influenced by warmer Pannonian climate
  • West: Vineyards on the Danube may experience cooler breezes from the Alps
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6
Q

What are environmental risks?

A
  • Spring frosts in many regions
  • Hail in Steiermark
  • Winter freeze (rarely, but in particular cold winters)
  • Water stress in years with low rainfall
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7
Q

What are the two major soil types and what variety is mostly planted on each?

A
  • Thin soils over rock (granite and gneiss) -> Riesling (needs less water than Grüner Veltliner)
  • Richer soils, e.g., loess, sometimes clay -> Grüner Veltliner as it needs more water
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8
Q

What other soil types are found in Austria?

A
  • Limestone
  • Schist
  • Gravel
  • Volcanic material
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9
Q

What was the traditional training method in the 1980s and what is it today?

A
  • 1980s: Lenz Moser
  • Today: Single or double Guyot with VSP
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10
Q

What is the Lenz Moser training method and why was it used in the 1980s?

A
  • Cordon Trained to 1.2-1.4m height (higher than other systems)
  • Popular for high volume production
  • Allows for mechanization: Low maintenance once established
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11
Q

Where is what type of harvest conducted?

A
  • By machine: on flatter lands (e.g., Weinviertel, Burgenland)
  • By hand: on terraced vineyards (e.g., Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal)
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12
Q

What is the max yield? How much was it in reality in recent years?

A
  • 67.5 hL/ha
  • 49 hL/ha in recent years
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13
Q

What is the ratio of white and black varieties?

A
  • 2/3 white
  • 1/3 black
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14
Q

What are the 5 main varieties from most planted to least planted?

A
  • Grüner Veltliner
  • Zweigelt (red)
  • Welschriesling
  • Blaufränkisch (red)
  • Riesling
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15
Q

What percentage of Austrian wine is planted to Grüner Veltliner and Zweigelt?

A
  • Grüner Veltliner: 30%
  • Zweigelt: 15%
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16
Q

What percent of Austrian vineyards are organic/sustainable?

A
  • Organic: 14%
  • Sustainable: 9%
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17
Q

Describe the characteristics of Grüner Veltliner (soil, vigor, skin)

A
  • Not suited for dry soils -> clay and loess
  • Canopy management necessary as it is vigorous on fertile soils
  • Thick skin -> can lead to phenolic taste if too long on skins
  • Skins contains rotundone -> peppery aroma
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18
Q

What is the typical style of Grüner Veltliner? (acidity, oak, aromas, quality, price)

A
  • Medium (+) to high acidity
  • Typically, no oak
  • Range from simple citrus, green apple to peach and great complexity
  • Range from acceptable to outstanding quality, inexpensive to premium priced
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19
Q

Describe the characteristics of Zweigelt (crossing, vigor, diseases)

A
  • Crossing between St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch
  • Vigorous -> canopy management necessary
  • Potassium deficiency can lead to withering and lost crops
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20
Q

What is the typical style of Zweigelt? (acidity, tannin, aromas, oak, quality, price)

A
  • Medium (+) acidity
  • Medium tannins
  • Red fruit, esp. cherry
  • Unoaked or oaked
  • Range from acceptable to very good, inexpensive to premium priced
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21
Q

What is the color and acidity of Welschriesling?

A
  • White
  • High acidity
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22
Q

What are the three styles of Welschriesling and where are they produced?

A
  • Style 1, mainly in Steiermark: Fresh, neutral, dry, inexpensive
  • Style 2, around Neusiedlersee: BA and TBA with high acidity and ageing potential, premium prices
  • Style 3: Sekt production
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23
Q

Is Welschriesling related to Riesling?

A

No

24
Q

Describe the characteristics of Blaufränkisch (budding/ripening, location, skin, vigor, quality)

A
  • Early budding -> vulnerable to spring frost
  • Late ripening -> needs warm climate
  • Burgenland
  • Thick skin -> not as susceptible to rot
  • Vigorous -> canopy management
  • Austria’s most age-worthy and intense red wines
25
Q

What is the typical style of Blaufränkisch? (acidity, tannin, color, aromas, oak, quality, price)

A
  • High acidity
  • Medium (+) to high tannins
  • Deep color and black fruit flavors
  • Unoaked or oaked
  • Range from good to outstanding quality, mid to premium priced
26
Q

What are the best areas for Blaufränkisch?

A
  • Leithaberg DAC
  • Mittelburgenland DAC
27
Q

In what temperatures and soils is Riesling planted?

A
  • Warmest sites
  • Shallow soil
28
Q

In what region is Riesling mostly planted?

A

Niederösterreich

29
Q

What is the typical style of Riesling? (sweetness, acidity, body, alcohol, aromas, ageing, quality, price)

A
  • Dry
  • High acidity
  • Full-bodied
  • Medium alcohol
  • Ripe stone fruit and sometimes tropical fruit
  • Ageing of 10-20 years possible, developing nutty, honeyed, petrol notes
  • Very good to outstanding quality with premium prices
30
Q

How are white wines generally made? (skin contact, vessels, malo, lees ageing)

A
  • Protective winemaking
  • Sometimes, short period of skin contact
  • Neutral, temperature-controlled vessel (stainless steel or old oak)
  • No malo
  • Often longer lees contact for added texture
31
Q

How are red wines generally made? (yeast, vessels)

A
  • Some producers use ambient yeast
  • Either stainless steel or old oak
  • Premium wines in barriques with some proportion of new oak
32
Q

What are some experiments in white and red wine making?

A
  • Acacia vats (no vanilla)
  • Longer skin contact
  • Fermentation and ageing in amphorae
33
Q

What are the three wine categories following EU terms?

A
  • Wein – without geographic indication
  • Landwein – PGI
  • Qualitätswein – PDO
34
Q

How much of the production is Qualitätswein?

A

90%

35
Q

What are the categories within Qualitätswein?

A
  • Klassik
  • Reserve
  • Prädikatswein
36
Q

What are the requirements for the Qualitätswein category “Klassik”?

A
  • Vintage dated
  • Varietal character
37
Q

What are the requirements for the Qualitätswein category “Reserve”?

A
  • Min 13% abv
  • Later harvest and release
38
Q

What Prädikats-category is not existing?

A

Kabinett

39
Q

How is TBA from Rust called?

A

Ausbruch

40
Q

What does DAC stand for?

A

Districtus Austriae Controllatus

41
Q

What is the purpose of DAC?

A

Promote regional typicity

42
Q

Is DAC a guarantee of quality?

A

No, rather an indicator of typicity

43
Q

How many DAC wine growing regions are there?

A

16

44
Q

What is a potential disadvantage of the DAC system?

A

New-wave, high-quality wine may not receive DAC

45
Q

What quality criteria can be used for DAC wines?

A
  • Gebietswein (regional)
  • Ortswein (village)
  • Riedenwein (single vineyard)
46
Q

Name two further quality classifications (outside of Autrian wine law)

A
  • Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW)
  • Vinea Wachau
47
Q

What are the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW)?

A

A group of producers from, e.g., Kamptal, Kremstal, Wagram, and Vienna

48
Q

What are the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW) doing to promote quality?

A

Classify vineyards in a similar fashion to Burgundy, based on soil type and climate

49
Q

When can producers within the Österreichische Traditionsweingüter (ÖTW) use the term “1ÖTW” on the label?

A
  • Varieties from one of 81 “Erste Lage” vineyards
  • The two most traditional grape varieties of the region are used
50
Q

Which of the 9 federal states in Austria have a significant amount of viticulture?

A
  • Niederösterreich
  • Burgenland
  • Steiermark
  • Wien
51
Q

How does Austria’s producer landscape look like and what are the trends?

A
  • Highly fragmented (4,000 wine estates)
  • Decline in very small wine estates
  • Increase of producers with more than 5 ha
52
Q

Where is most of Austrian wine sold?

A

Hospitality sector (“Heurigen”)

53
Q

What is Heurigen?

A
  • Meaning: ‘this year’s’
  • Small inns or taverns that serve simple food and local wine
  • Mostly open in the late summer and autumn
54
Q

What happened in the last decades in terms of quality?

A
  • After the wine scandal, more higher quality wines
  • Focus on export of bottled wines rather than in bulk
55
Q

How much of Austria’s wine is exported?

A

20%

56
Q

What are the main export markets?

A
  • Germany (50% of exports by volume and value)
  • Switzerland
  • USA