Austria Flashcards
What is the climate in Austria? Vineyards are found in the east, away from the Alps.
Cool Continental
What are summers and winters like in Austria?
Summers are short
Winters are long and harsh
What kind of winds affect the Northerly wine regions?
Cool Northerly winds
What kind of winds affect the more Southerly vineyards?
Warm easterly winds
What is the most widely planted grape variety?
Gruner Veltliner
When might wines made from Gruner Veltliner be unexciting?
When yields are too high
What are characteristics of best, young Gruner? (body, acid, clusters, distinct flavour)
What notes develop with age? (2)
Full-bodied
High-acid
Citrus and Stonefruit
White pepper
Honey and Toast with age
A majority of producers ferment and age in stainless and old oak casks are also commonly used. Still, what might some producers mature Gruner Veltliner in?
New oak barriques
What is the second most planted white variety in Austria?
Welschriesling
Welschriesling tends to be fresh, simple, with high acidity displaying flavours of? (cluster, fruit)
Citrus, green apple
What feature of Welschriesling makes it a candidate for making high-quality dessert wines?
Thin-skins = botrytis
The best examples of what, less widely planted grape come from Wachau, Kamptal and Kremstal?
Rielsing
Which white grape has a growing reputation in Austria?
Sauvignon Blanc
What is the most widely planted black variety in Austria?
Zweigelt (Blaufrankisch x St Laurent)
Which black grape is most highly regarded in Austria?
Blaufrankisch
What Austrian specialty grape is similar to Pinot Noir in character?
St Laurent
Which Austrian black grape variety tends to have high acidity with medium tannins and a peppery, sour cherry flavour?
Blaufrankisch
Which three international black grape varieties are grown and mainly blended with Austrian varieties?
Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
What are PGI wines labelled as? What are wines without a geographical identification labelled as?
Landwein
Wein (similar to Germany but Germany uses Deutscher wine)
PDO wines can be from either a generic or specified region. What two labelling terms identify a PDO wine?
Qualitatswein
Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC)
Qualitatswein labelling can be broken down further. Austria shares the Pradikatswein system, what is it called here?
Pradikat
Ausbruch and Schilfwein/Strohwein are two additional ‘Pradikate’. Where does Ausbruch fit in? What is Schilfwein/Strohwein?
Between BA and TBA
Schilfwein is where bunches of grapes are laid out on reeds or straw during winter to concentrate sugars
How many different grape varieties are permitted in Austrian PDO wines?
40
How many smaller wine regions have elected to become Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC)?
15
Where a DAC already exists for one style of wine, can you label a different style of wine as a Pradikatwein from that same specific region? What must the non-DAC wine be labelled as?
No
Pradikatswein from the larger, generic region
What must producers from a region agree on before applying for DAC qualification?
Grape variety/varieties
A style of wines/set of regulations
Wines made in a DAC region that do not conform to the decided grape varieties and/or regulations must not be labelled as being from that region. How may they be labelled?
Qualitatswein/Pradikat can be labelled from one of the bigger generic regions
Wein or Landwein too
The four larger generic, federal state DACs are:
Niederosterreich, Burgenland, Steiermark and Wien. Which two boast the vast majority of production?
Niederosterreich (lower Austria)
Burgenland
Which subregion of Niederosterreich is the most reknown for high quality dry wines made from either Gruner Veltliner or Riesling?
Wachau
In Wachau, vineyards are often terraced and south-facing, what else helps maximise exposure to sunlight?
Proximity to the Danube
Wachau became a Districtus Austriae Controllatus in what year?
2020
Kremstal DAC and Kamptal DAC sit just to the north of which new DAC and produce wines from which similar grapes?
Wachau
Riesling and Gruner Veltliner
Which area was the first Austrian DAC and largest wine-growing area?
Weinviertal DAC
What single grape is permitted under Weinviertal DAC restrictions?
Gruner Veltliner
There are two sub classifications in Weinviertal DAC; one is for light, fresh, fruity wines with no discernible oak, the other has a higher minimum ABV and can be oak-matured.
Klassik
Reserve
What two kinds of top-quality wines is Burgenland known for?
Red and sweet
Neusiedlersee is a vast shallow lake in Burgenland. This late, in combination with the wetland regions on it’s margins are responsible for autumn mist that aid in the botrytisation of which grape primarily?
Welshriesling (thin skins)
The best red wines in Austria come from the vineyards on higher ground away from Neusiedlersee lake and in the hills further south. What black grape is most planted here?
Zweigelt
What two Austrian grapes, aside from Zweigelt, are planted in Burgenland? How many DACs for each of these three grapes (inc. Zweigelt)
Blaufrankisch (4 DACs)
St Laurent (0)
Zweigelt (2)
The largest DAC for Blaufrankisch is Mittelburgenland
Tru dat
