Austria COPY Flashcards
Wachau climate, geo
Continental, heat comes from the Pannon in the west during the day. Nights are cooled from the northern Mtns. Moderated by the Danube, Vineyards on steeply terraced hillsides overlooking the river, mostly on the north bank
Wachau grapes
Gruner: most planted, on the lower banks on loess and sand. Riesling: planted higher up on the granite and gneiss
Wachau villages
W-E along the river. Viessling (on the Spitzer Bach River), Spitz, Wosendorf, Joching, Weissenkirchen, Durnstein, Oberloiben, Unterloiben, Mautern
Wachau vineyards
Bruck (Viessling), Achleiten (Weissenkirchen), Loibenberg (Oberloiben/Unterloiben)
Wachau producers
Franz Hirtzberger (Spitz), Veyder-Malberg (Spitz), Rudi Pichler (Wosendorf), Prager (Weiseenkirchen), Domaine Wachau (Durnstein), FX Pichler (Oberloiben) Emmerich Knoll (Unterloiben), Alzinger (Unterloiben), Nikolaihof (Mautern)
Codex Wachau Classification
All wines must be dry, may show botrytis
Steinfeder: max 11.5% abv, min 15 KMV
Federspiel: 11.5-12.5% abv, min 17 KMV
Smaragd: min 12.5% abv, min 19 KMV (~95 oschle, Spatlese level)
Vinea Wachau
an association of producers with approximately 200 members, controlling more than 85% of acreage, est. 1983. Requirements for members:
100% from and bottled in the Wachau
No additives: no chaptalization or must concentrates
No concentration: no cryo-extraction, reverse osmosis, etc
No Aromatization: no oak barriques, chips, etc
No Fractionation: no spinning cone usage, etc
No manipulation of nature: including mechanical harvesting
Niederosterreich regions
Wachau, Kremstal DAC, Kamptal DAC, Traisental DAC, Wagram, Weinvertal DAC, Thermenregion, Carnuntum
Wien regions
Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC
Burgenland Regions
Neusiedlersee DAC, Leithaberg DAC, Rosalia DAC, Mittelburgenland, Eisenberg DAC (formerly Sudburgenland)
Steiermark Regions
Vulkanland-Steiermark DAC (formerly Sudoststeiermark), Sudsteiermark DAC, Weststeiermark DAC
Which Burgenland regions were phased out in 2016
Neusiedlersee-Hugeland, now two DAC zones, the existing Leithaberg DAC and the new Rosalia DAC. Sudburgenland, the overlapping Eisenberg DAC remains
Which Austrian regions are not DAC
Wachau, Wagram, Thermenregion, Carnuntum
Austria Landwein regions
EU IGP wines, Weinbauregionen: Weinland: Niederosterreich, Wien, Burgenland. Steierland: Steiermark. Bergland: outcrops throughout the rest of the country
Austrian wine categories that allow chaptilization and sussreserve
Wein, IGP: Landwein, DOP: Qualitatswein, Qualitatswein Sekt (Kabinett Qualitatswein and higher do not allow either)
Austrian abv reqs for PDO wines
Qualitatswein: min 9%. Kabinett Qualitatswein: max 13%. Pradikatswein: min 5%
Austrian PDO wine min must wts
Qualitatswein & Sekt: 15 KMV Kabinett Qualitatswein: 17 KMV Spatlese Pradikatswein: 19 KMV Auslese Pradikatswein: 21 KMV Beerenauslese, Eiswein, Strohwein/Schilfwein: 25 KMV Trockenbeerenauslese/Ausbruch: 30 KMV
Antifreeze scandal
The “antifreeze” scandal of 1985 surfaced when one of the guilty parties tried to claim Diethylene glycol—a colorless, odorless, poisonous chemical, as a legitimate winery expense on his tax return. Customers cancelled orders worldwide. Bottles tested positive for the chemical in nearly every export market, and the press decried the matter, asserting that Austrians had diluted their wines with antifreeze. The association stuck and damaged the image of Austrian wines for years. Austria responded by drafting some of the strictest wine laws in Europe and quickly refocusing on quality. In a very short time, Austria has earned a renewed reputation as one of the classic winemaking nations of the world
Austrian major winemaking regions
Weinbaugebiete: Niederosterreich, Wien, Burgenland, Steiermark
Chardonnay in Austria
Morillon and Feinburgunder.
Zweigelt
Blaufränkisch x St. Laurent crossing developed in Austria in 1922. The most planted red grape in Austria
Most planted red grape in Austria
Zweigelt
Austrian Qualitatswein
The base category for PDO wines, including DAC wines, which may supercede the basic requirements. Sourced from a single Weinbaugebiete or one of 16 smaller wine regions, 36 permitted grapes. Must pass a tasting panel, chemical analysis, recieve a prufnummer, and include the red and white banderole on the bottle capsule. 2/3 of Austria’s production
Strohwein
aka Schilfwein. Pradikatswein level, Beerenauslese/Eiswein ripeness: 25 KMV. produced from grapes dried for a minimum of 3 months. No chaptalization or süssreserve
Ausbruch
Pradikatswein level, Trockenbeerenauslese ripeness: 30 KMV. Must come from the city of Rust in Burgenland on Neusiedler See. A traditional sweet wine dating to the 17th century. bears similarities to the process of Tokaji: richly concentrated botrytis-affected must is added to less concentrated must—from fruit harvested in the same vineyard—and the two are fermented together, then aged in barrel before release. Furmint traditional, Moder more often produced from Chardonnay, Muskateller, Pinot Blanc, Neuburger, Welschriesling, Traminer and Pinot Gris.