Austria Flashcards
What is the climate like in Austria’s grape growing regions?
Cool continental with short summers and harsh winters.
What is the most widely planted variety?
Grüner Veltliner
When grown with care and low yields, what is the wine like?
It produces full-bodied, concentrated wines with naturally high acidity.
Youthful - gives flavours of citrus or stone fruit, with hints of white pepper
With age - layers of honey and toast.
Most producers ferment and store in stainless steel but old oak casks are also used. Some producers may mature a portion of their best wines in new oak barriques.
What are the main white varieties?
Grüner Veltliner, Welschriesling, and Riesling
Chardonnay, Muller Thurgau, and Sauvignon Blanc are also gaining popularity.
Describe Welschriesling wines (2nd most planted variety).
Dry style- wines are usually fresh but simple, displaying citrus and green apple flavours and high acidity.
Dessert wines- dependant on grapes’ susceptibility to Botrytis.
Describe Austrian Riesling?
Less widely planted. Best examples come from Wachau, Kamptal and Kremstal.
Usually dry, medium to full-bodied, with ripe peachy primary fruit.
Best examples are capable of maturing in bottle.
What are the three black varieties planted?
Zweigelt (Blaufrankisch x St. Laurent) - most widely planted
Blaufrankisch - the most highly regarded
St Laurent- an Austrian speciality that gives wine similar in character to Pinot Noir.
What are Blaufrankisch wines like?
Produces wines with medium tannins, high acidity and a peppery, sour cherry flavour.
What are the 4 federal states for PDO wines?
Neiderösterreich (Lower Austria), Burgenland, Steiermark (Styria) and Wien (Vienna). The first two account for the majority of the production.
Describe the main wine areas within Neiderosterreich.
Vineyards lie on banks of the Danube and further north towards the Slovak border. Wachau is the most renowned for high quality dry white wines made from Grüner Veltliner or Riesling
- Wachau is not part of the DAC and has its own classification system.
- Kamptal DAC and Kremstal DAC lie just north of WAchau and produce wines in a similar style and quality from either Grüner Veltliner or Riesling
- Weinviertal DAC - is Austria’s largest vine-growing area and was the first DAC. Wines can only be made from Grüner Veltliner.
Describe Burgenland.
Burgenland - East of Austria along the border with Hungary and is known for top-quality sweet wines and red wines. Dry white wines are made too, mostly from Pinot Blanc, Welschriesling, Grüner Veltliner and Chardonnay.
What is the Neusiedlersee and why is it important?
It is a vast shallow lake in the north of Burgenland. It is the key for sweet wine production in this region.
Which variety is used to make sweet wines from Neusiedlersee?
Welschriesling
Which red wine variety comes from the higher areas away from the lake and in the hills further south in Neusiedlersee?
Zweigelt is the most widely planted black grape variety.
Neusidlersee is a DAC for Zweigelt
How many DAC’s are their for Blaufrankisch?
3 DACs for Blaufrankisch. Mittelburgenland is the largest.
