Austria Flashcards
When did Vienna become a major center for wine trade?
The 13th Century
What river is Vienna on?
The Danube
What year is the first record of Trockenbeerenauslese in Austria?
1526
When did Austria have the most vineyards in its history?
1700s.
What fungal diseases came from America to devastate vineyards in Europe along with the root louse?
Oidium and peronospora.
After World War II, where did Austri rank in global wine production?
Third largest producer.
Wher ew is the viticultural research institute of Austria?
Klosterneuberg.
What year was the Antifreeze Scandal, and what was it?
The “antifreeze” scandal of 1985 surfaced when one of the guilty parties tried to claim the chemical as a legitimate winery expense on his tax return. Diethylene glycol—a colorless, odorless, poisonous chemical—gave a light wine some added texture.
How did Austria respond to the 1985 Antifreeze scandal?
By drafting the strictest wine laws in Europe, and focusing on quality.
What are the four major wine making regions of Austria?
Niederösterreich (Lower Austria)
Wien (Vienna)
Burgenland
Steiermark (Styria)
Name the top six whites for Austria.
Gruner Veltliner
Welshriesling
Müller Thurgau
Weißburgunder
Riesling
Chardonnay (Morillon, Feinburgunder)
What is Zweigelt a cross between?
Blaufränkish x St. Laurent
In what year was Zweigelt created?
1922
Name the top four red varietals in Austria?
Zweigelt
Blaufränkisch
Blauer Portugeiser
Blauburger (Blauer Portugeiser x Blaufrankisch)
What percentage of Austria is planted in white varietals?
2/3
What are the three levels of quality in Austrian wine?
Wein
Landwein
Qualitätswein
What is a Weinbaugebiet?
A wine growing region in Austria.
What must Qualitätswein pass and receive?
A tasting panel and chemical analysis. It must receive a prüfnummer, and always carries the red and white banderole on the bottle’s capsule.
What percentage of wine in Austria is Qualitätswein?
80%
What are the rules for Austria’s designation Wein?
Wein—a generic category that replaced Tafelwein in time for the 2009 vintage—may carry a vintage date and a variety on the label, but may not exhibit a more exclusive statement of origin than Österreich.
How many varieties are allowed for Qualitätswein?
There are 40 permitted grapes.
May Qualitätswein be blended?
Yes
How many varietals are allowed for Landwein?
The same 40 as Qualitätswein.
What are the three geographic areas allowed for Landwein?
Weinland
Steirerland
Bergland
The geographic designation Weinland covers what areas?
Weinland covers the areas defined as Niederösterreich, Wien and Burgenland.
What geographic area does Steirerland correspond to?
Steiermark
What geographic area does Bergland correspond to?
Bergland includes just under 250 ha of vineyard land scattered throughout the remainder of Austria’s mountainous countryside.
What is the maximum allowable yield in Austria?
9,000 kg/ha (75 hl/ha)
What are the two subcategories of Qualitätswein?
Qualitätswein may be further subdivided into the categories of Prädikatswein and Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC).
What is the difference with Kabinett labeling in Austria versus Germany?
In Austria, Kabinett wines are considered a subset of Qualitätswein rather than a beginning rung on the ladder of Prädikatswein; however, even at the Kabinett level winemakers are prohibited from practicing both chaptalization and the addition of Süssreserve.
Austria’s Prädikatswein heirarchy includes two additional categories, what are they?
Strohwein, a dried grape wine of at least Beerenauslese ripeness, and Ausbruch, a sweet specialty of Rust, a free city on the western shore of Neusiedlersee.
Where does most of Austria’s sweet wine come from?
ost of Austria’s lusciously sweet wines are produced around the lake of Neusiedlersee in Burgenland.
What is the DAC system?
The DAC system, a newer indication of origin for Qualitätswein designed to align Austrian regions with wine profiles in the mind of the consumer, in the tradition of the French and Italian systems. It focuses on dry wines.
How many DACs are there as of 2023?
18
What year did Austrian Sekt with Protected Designation of Origin become a legal category?
2016
There are three distinct Sekt Austrian PDOs, what are they?
Sekt Austria
Sekt Austria Reserve
Sekt Austria Grosse Reserve
What types of sparkling wines may be produced under Austria Sekt?
Austri Sekt requires that the grapes come from one of Austria’s federal states and the wine spends at least nine months on the lees, in the case of traditional method wines, and six months for those produced using tank method. Tank, transfer, and traditional methods are all allowed, and all dosage levels/styles and colors may be produced.
What are the laws regarding Sekt Austria Reserve?
Starting at the Reserve level, traditional method, hand-harvesting, and whole-cluster pressing are mandated. Grapes must be grown and vinified in one of Austria’s federal states, and 18 months on the lees is required at minimum. The finished product may only be Brut, Extra Brut, or Brut Nature, and an indication of the village in which the wine was produced may appear on the label.
What are the wine laws regarding Sekt Austria Grosse Reserve?
At the top of the tier is Grosse Reserve. Here the rules become more stringent: grapes must come from a single wine village, such as Langenlois, and this must be stated on the label. Vineyard names may also appear on the label. The wine must sit on the lees for a minimum of 36 months. Like Reserve, Grosse Reserve may not hold more than 12 grams per liter of residual sugar, meaning the wines must be Brut, Extra Brut, or Brut Nature.
What designations differentiate Sekt Austria from Austria Sekt?
Austrian Sekt bottles must carry the official red and white seal on the capsule with the words Geschützter Ursprung, geprüfte Qualität, meaning “protected designation of origin and certified quality”, along with an indication of the quality level.
What is the largest wine growing region in Austria?
Niederösterreich, or Lower Austria, is the largest winegrowing region in the county and contains more than twice the planted vineyard area of the next leading Weinbaugebiet, Burgenland.
How many subzones are there for Neiderösterreich?
8
Name the subzones of Neiderösterreich.
Weinviertel
Carnuntum
Traisental
Wagram
Kremstal
Kamptal
Wachau
Thermenregion
As of 2023, all of the subzones have earned DAC status.
What is Neiderösterreich’s largest subzone?
Weinviertel
What is Austria’s first DAC?
Weinviertel
What grape must DAC wines from Weinviertel be?
Grüner Veltliner
What is the difference between Weinviertel and Weinviertel reserve?
12% and 13% alcohol, reserve allow notes of botrytis and wood, which the regular DAC does not.
What are the allowable grapes on Kremstal and Traisental DAC?
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling
What are the allowable grapes in Kamptal DAC?
Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Chardonnay, Weissburgunder, and Pinot Gris.
What districts are located in western Niederösterreich, along the Krems and Kamp Rivers, tributaries of the Danube?
The neighboring districts of Kremstal and Kamptal are located in western Niederösterreich, along the Krems and Kamp Rivers, tributaries of the Danube.
What word often replaces the village on Austrian labels and indicates a top site?
Ried
What is the name of the Austrian association of producers? When was it founded?
Österreichische Tradionsweingüter was founded in 1992.
What is the Neiderösterreich’s western most region?
Wachau
What river is the Wachau’s vineyards along?
The Wachau is a narrow band of steep slopes between Melk and Krems along the banks of the Danube.
What is loess?
The soil is ‘loess’ (pronounced luss), which means ‘loose’. It is basically fine gritty crumbly loose-structured unstratified windblown clay and silt particles cemented by a little clay and lime. It is mostly created by wind, but also formed by glaciers grinding rocks to fine powder.
Commonly found in Nahe, Pfalz, Rheingau, and Baden.
What is gneiss?
A metamorphic rock with a banded or foliated structure, typically coarse-grained and consisting mainly of feldspar, quartz, and mica. Makes a sandy soil.
Name three top producers for the Wachau.
FX Pichler
Prager
Emmerich Knoll
What is the Vinea Wachau?
An organization of estates sworn to uphold the tenets of natural winemaking as spelled out in the Codex Wachau: no additives (including chaptalization), no aromatization (including the use of new barrique), and no “fractionation” (techniques such as de-alcoholization).
What year was the Vinea Wachau founded?
1983
What is the three tier system of Wachau?
“Gebeitsweine” - lowest tier, regional wines, 17 varieties allowed, including Genischter Satz blend
“Ortsweine”- village wines, 9 varieties are allowed
“Reidenweine” - must be Riesling or Grüner Veltliner
What is the law regarding hand harvesting in Wachau?
All grapes must be hand harvested in Wachau.
What are the three stylistic categories created by the Vinea Wachau in the late 1980’s?
Steinfeder
Federspiel
Smaragd
Describe the wine style Steinfeder.
Steinfeder (named for a local grass found in the vineyards) is the lightest style, with a minimum must weight of 15° KMW and a maximum alcohol of 11.5%
Describe Federspiel.
Federspiel (referencing a medieval falconer’s lure) has a minimum must weight of 17° KMW and a final alcohol range of 11.5 to 12.5%.
Describe Smaragd.
Smaragd (taking its name from the emerald lizard who basks on terraces) has a minimum alcohol of 12.5% and a minimum must weight of 18.2° KMW—the approximate equivalent of 90° Öchsle, or Spätlese ripeness. As these wines must be dry, Smaragd wines can reach high alcohol levels, show a high degree of extract, and display notes of botrytis.
What is the specialty grape of Wagram?
Roter Veltliner, an unrelated red grape produced as a white wine
Where are Carnuntum and Thermenregion located?
South of Vienna.
What grapes are cultivated in Thermen region? What is their blend called?
Rotgipfler and Zierfandler. Spätrot-Rotgipfler is the blend.
What wines is Burgenland known for?
Red and sweet wines.
What country does Burgenland border?
Hungary
What is the climate of Burgenland?
Hot continental, Pannonian
What is the cooling influence on Burgenland?
Neusiedlersee, a large, shallow lake
How many DACs does Burgenland have? What are they
6
Mittleburgenland
Leithaberg
Eisenberg
Neusiedlersee
Rosalia
Rust
What is the red grape of Mittelburgenland?
Blaufränkisch
What DAC allows both red and white wines?
Leithaberg
What are the three most common red varietals in Burgenland?
Blaufränkisch
Zweigelt
St. Lauren
What DOC in Burgenland makes dry Rosé?
Rosalia
What wines is Alois Kracher famous for making?
Sweet wines.
Alois Kracher’s TBA Scheurebe is among the grape’s finest expressions to date.
What wine is the free city of Rust famous for making?
Ausbruch, a traditional sweet wine dating to the 17th century.
What are the grapes used to produce Ruster Ausbruch?
Chardonnay, Muskateller, Pinot Blanc, Neuburger, Welschriesling, Traminer and Pinot Gris.
What are the three subregions of Styria or Steiermark?
Südsteiermark, Weststeiermark, and Vulkanland Steiermark.
What is Styria’s most cultivated variety?
Sauvignon Blanc
What wine is Südsteiermark’s Manfred Tement famous for?
Sauvignon Blanc in unoacked and barrique aged versions.
In 2017 Styria held one DAC zone, Schilcherland DAC. What wine do they make?
The Schilcherland DAC promoted the racy rosé produced from the ancient grape, Blauer Wildbacher.
What is the three tier system of Styria?
“System of Origin Steiermark.”
It basically copies the Wachau system with three tiers:
Regional wine
Ortswein
Reidenwein
What is the only capital European city to have a wine designation within its city limits?
Vienna (Wien) with nearly 600 ha of vines.
What is the Nouveau wine of Vienna?
Heuriger
What is the most common wine of Vienna?
Gemischter Satz
What year was the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC created?
2013
What is the half-fermented sparkling grape juice consumed during harvest time in Vienna?
Sturm
