Austria

Question 1

What wines are Austria known for?

Answer 1

Dry, high acid white wines made from Gruner Veltliner and Riesling

Sweet wines

Recently, red wines from Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch have become better known

Question 2

When did winemaking in Austria begin?

Answer 2

The bronze age

Question 3

Who were the major influences on winemaking in Austria post-Bronze Age?

Answer 3

The Romans and the Magyars, followed most importantly by the Cistercian monks

Question 4

When were the Cistercian monks most active in Austria’s winemaking? What did they introduce?

Answer 4

Their influence was felt most in the 10th-12th centuries CE with the introduction of Burgundian wine culture and he establishment of terraced vineyards in Wachau and its neighboring appellations

Question 5

When did the first major spontaneous expansion of vineyard land in Austria occur? Did the effect last into the present day?

Answer 5

During the 15th and 16th centuries, vineyard land equaled 150,000 hectares. Invasion by Turkey, taxation on wine, and increasing popularity of beer caused a decrease in vineyard area that shrank further due to phylloxera and mildew. 2018 vineyard area was around 50,000 hectares.

Question 6

When were the first wine laws introduced in Austria? What primary factor is responsible for its introduction? What was banned in these first laws?

Answer 6

The early 1900s due to a culture of scientific research onto vineyard management and winemaking.

Hybrid vines were, at first, not permitted in Austrian winegrowing areas.

Question 7

What controversy affected Austrian wine sales in the 20th century? When did it happen and what was the specific effect?

Answer 7

In order to meet surging export demand during the 1970s and 1980s, some large volume Austrian wine producers added the antifreeze product diethylene glycol to their wines to increase volumes and add sweetness. When this was discovered in 1985, sales fell the next year from 30 million liters to 5 million liters.

Question 8

What is the AWMB? When was it founded?

Answer 8

The Austrian Wine Marketing Board was founded in 1986 to improve the international image of Austrian wine. Its founding followed the discovery of diethylene glycol use in Austrian wine.

Question 9

What is the volume and price of Austrian wine exports today compared to 1985?

Answer 9

Volume is up to 52.6 million compared to 30 million

Prices have more than tripled

Question 10

What part of Austria is unsuitable for commercial viticulture?

Answer 10

Most of Austria’s mountainous western terrain

Question 11

What part of Austria is better suited for commercial viticulture?

Answer 11

The eastern part of the country where the Alps flatten into the Pannonian plain and along the Danube river

Question 12

What is the climate in Austria?

Answer 12

Cool with varying influences based on regional geography

Question 13

It can be said that there are unique influences on Austria’s northern, southern, eastern, and western winemaking zones. What are they?

Answer 13

North: cool northerly winds

South: the moderate Adriatic

East: the warmer Pannonian plains

West: the cooling Alps

Question 14

What climate-related risks can occur during the growing season in Austria?

Answer 14

Spring frost

Hail

Winter freeze in particularly cold winters, though not generally

Water stress in some area

Question 15

What are the two major soil types in Austria?

Answer 15

Thin soils over rock

Richer soils such as loess

Question 16

What major rock types are present in Austria?

Answer 16

Granite or gneiss

Crystalline bedrock known locally as Urgestein

Question 17

What soil types are less present in Austria’s soul but still important for viticulture? Where are they common?

Answer 17

Limestone and schist, as on the Leithaberg Hills

Gravel and volcanic material, as in Steiermark and parts of Kamptal

Question 18

What soils are Riesling and Gruner Veltliner planted on in Austria? Why?

Answer 18

Riesling is usually planted on thinner soils because it needs less water than Gruner Veltliner.

Question 19

What was the established vine training method in Austria during the 1980s? Is it still in use?

Answer 19

The Lenz Moser method, a high-training system (1.2-1.4m) that improves vineyard mechanization, promotes high yields, and avoids shading of bunches.

The Guyot training systems with VSP trellising are more popular as they improve quality.

Question 20

Is machine harvesting common in Austria?

Answer 20

On the flatter lands in Weinviertel and Burgenland, yes. Some areas around the Danube, Such as Wachau, Kremstal, and Kamptal, are planted on hand built steep stone terraces that require hand harvesting.

Question 21

True or False

Disease pressure is high in Austria.

Answer 21

False. Rainfall is low to moderate, reaching 450mm in Weinviertel and 850mm in Steiermark, which reduces disease pressure.

Question 22

How has the disease pressure in Austria affected organic and biodynamic viticulture?

Answer 22

With the low risk of fungal disease due to the relatively dry climate, 16% of Austrian vineyards are practicing organic and 20% of those are practicing biodynamic.

The remainder of Austria’s wine area are largely practicing integrated viticulture.

Question 23

Is irrigation permitted in Austrian vineyards?

Answer 23

Yes as rainfall can be low during the growing season.

Question 24

What is the maximum yield permitted in Austria?

Answer 24

Max 67.5 hL/ha, though averages are 52 hL/ha

Question 25

What is the focus in Austria’s national identity as a wine producing nation?

Answer 25

To create high quality wines

Question 26

True or False

Austria is known for the production of high quality international grape varieties.

Answer 26

False. Its autochthonous (native) varieties are what make Austrian wines distinct.

Question 27

What types of grapes dominate Austria’s area under vine?

Answer 27

White varieties comprise two thirds of Austria’s plantings. Grüner Veltliner itself accounts for 31% of all plantings.

Question 28

What is the most planted variety in Austria?

Answer 28

Grüner Veltliner at 31% of all plantings.

Question 29

What types of soils does Grüner Veltliner prefer? How does this affect viticultural management?

Answer 29

Grüner prefers clay and loess soils as it does poorly on dry soils. It is, however, vigorous if planted on fertile soils which can require careful canopy management to ripen the grapes.

Question 30

How do the skins of Grüner Veltliner affect winemaking?

Answer 30

The skins are thick and rich in phenolics. As such, they can’t be left in contact with the juice for very long or they will create a bitterness in the wine.

There is a pepper quality offered by the skins which is typical of the variety. Balance in maceration, therefore, is required.

Question 31

What types of wines are generally produced from Grüner Veltliner?

Answer 31

A range of simple to highly complex wines, usually with medium (+) acidity and unoaked. Inexpensive examples can have subdued citrus and and green fruit aromas and built for early drinking.

Very good to outstanding examples may have pronounced citrus and peach fruit with high complexity and ageability.

Question 32

True or False

Welschriesling is related to Riesling through Silvaner

Answer 32

False. Welschriesling is related to neither of those grapes.

IN FACT (beyond the syllabus), it’s a Croatian variety named Graševina (the most planted variety in that country) that migrated across Central Europe.

Question 33

What is the second most planted white variety in Austria?

Answer 33

Welschriesling

Question 34

Where is Welschriesling planted in Austria? What types of wines does it produce?

Answer 34

It is mostly planted in Steiermark where simple, fresh, neutral wines are produced.

In Neusiedlersee, high quality BA and TBA styles are produced that can be very good to outstanding and premium priced.

It is also included in Sekt production due to its neutral aromatics and high acidity.

Question 35

Describe the character of sweet Welschriesling produced in Austria’s Neusiedlersee.

Answer 35

High acid, pronounced tropical fruit and dried fruit aromas, and typically a botrytized character. It can often be found as Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.

Question 36

What percentage of Austrian grape plantings does Riesling comprise?

Answer 36

4%

Question 37

Where in Austria is Riesling likely to be found?

Answer 37

In Niederösterreich, on the warmer sites with thinner soils as it needs less water than Gruner Veltliner to perform well

Question 38

What style of wine is most commonly made from Austrian Riesling?

Answer 38

Dry, sometimes full bodied with high acidity and medium alcohol.

The quality is often very good to outstanding with premium prices.

Question 39

What is the most planted black grape variety in Austria?

Answer 39

Zweigelt at 14% of total plantings

Question 40

What is the lineage of Zweigelt?

Answer 40

It is a crossing between Sankt Laurent and Blaufränkisch.

Question 41

Where is Zweigelt planted in Austria? Why?

Answer 41

Throughout the country. It is easy to ripen and not susceptible to frost or rot.

Question 42

What is the typical character of Zweigelt wines?

Answer 42

Dry, medium (+) acid and moderate tannins with aromas of red fruit (especially cherry)

It can be easy drinking and fruity or full bodied, oaked, and ageable.

Question 43

Where is Blaufrankisch planted in Austria? Why?

Answer 43

In Burgenland. The variety is late ripening and requires a warm climate. It is also resistant to rot due to its thick skins, important for plantings around Neusiedlersee.

Question 44

What types of wine does Blaufrankisch produce in Austria? Why?

Answer 44

They tend to be deeply colored, high acid, medium (+) to high tannins, and show black fruit flavors. It is high yielding and can produce some of the country’s longest lived and intense wines if yields are controlled.

Question 45

What types of wines does Sankt Laurent produce in Austria?

Answer 45

Wines with deep ruby color, medium tannins, and red cherry aromas.

Question 46

What is the general style and goal of Austrian white winemaking?

Answer 46

The preservation of primary fruit and varietal character

Question 47

What methods, particularly with Gruner Veltliner and Riesling, are common in the production of Austrian white wine?

Answer 47

A short period of skin contact in a neutral vessel to maximize aromatic extraction

Temperature control to prevent losses of delicate aromatics

Prevention of malolactic conversion to maintain varietal character and fresh acidity

Maturation in stainless steel or old oak, with some producers using lees contact for complexity

Question 48

How are the red wines of Austria typically fermented?

Answer 48

In large open top vessels to permit punch downs and pump overs. Some producers use ambient yeasts.

Maturation occurs in stainless steel or large (300-600 L) oak barrels

Question 49

What alternative to oak and stainless steel are some Austrian winemakers using for maturation? Why?

Answer 49

Acacia barrels. These provide oxygenation to the wine without the vanilla flavors of oak.

Acacia barrels are less expensive than French oak but more expensive than American oak.