Autriche

Question 1

What is the climate of Austria?

Answer 1

Cool Continental , with short summers and very harsh winters.

The more northerly regions (Weinviertel) can experience cooling northerly winds, whereas those closest to the Hungarian border (eg Burgerland) are warmed by easterly winds.

Question 2

t are the main hazards Austrian winemakers can face?

Answer 2

Spring frosts can be an issue in many regions.
Hail can also cause damage (eg Steiermark).
Winter freeze is rarely an issue; however, damage can occur in particularly cold winters.
In low rainfall years water stress can be an issue in some regions, especially those with thin free draining soils, and irrigation may be required.
Disease pressure is low in many parts of Austria, because of moderate precipitation.

Question 3

Why are the winemaking regions in Austria clustered in the eastern part of the country?

Answer 3

Because the Alps in western Austria are unsuitable for viticulture.

Question 4

Which river runs through Niederösterreich (Lower Austria)?

Answer 4

The Danube River

Question 5

Why are summers generally warmer in Austria than in
Germany?

Answer 5

Because Austria opens up to the Pannonian Plain, which is a large flatland (and former sea) that helps usher in warm air that accumulates between the Alps and Carpathian Mountains.

This warm air helps eastern Austrian reds achieve full ripeness and gives Austrian whites greater body and alcohol compared to their German counterparts.

Question 6

How are the warm growing days in Austria counterbalanced to maintain acidity and freshness in the wines?

Answer 6

Cool winds originating in the north (Poland, Czech Republic) that cool down everything at night, which creates a big diurnal shift, especially for more northerly regions.

Question 7

What are the main white grapes of Austria?

Answer 7

Grüner Veltliner - most planted
Welschriesling - second most planted
Riesling

Two-thirds of all vineyards in Austria are planted with white grape varieties.

Question 8

Besides Grüner Veltliner and Welschriesling, what two other white grape varietals are found in Burgenland?

Answer 8

Chardonnay
Pinot Blanc (Weissburgunder)

Question 9

Sauvignon Blanc is experiencing a burgeoning reputation in which Austrian wine region?

Answer 9

Steiermark in the south

Question 10

What are the main red grapes of Austria?

Answer 10

Zweigelt - most planted black grape
Blaufränkisch
Sankt Laurent

International grape varieties that are on the rise:

Pinot Noir
Merlot
Cabernet Sauvignon

Question 11

What are the parent grapes for Zweigelt?

Answer 11

Blaufränkisch x St Laurent

Question 12

Fill in which red Austrian grape best matches the following descriptions:

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ is deeply colored with soft tannins and bramble fruits.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ has high acid, medium tannins, with flavors of sour cherry and pepper.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (similar to Pinot Noir).

Answer 12

Zweigelt
Blaufränkisch (the most highly regarded)
Sankt Laurent

Oak aging is common.

Question 13

Fill in which Austrian white grape best matches the following descriptions:

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ displays white pepper, high acidity, and citrus/stone fruits in its youth and honey + toast flavors as it ages.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ makes simple, citrusy wines with green apple flavors (and make better dessert wines if botrytised).
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ shows ripe, peachy fruits, and are usually dry and medium- to full-bodied.

Answer 13

Grüner Veltliner
Welschriesling
Riesling

Question 14

In Austria, what are the 4 most important generic wine regions?

Answer 14

Niederösterreich (Lower Austria)
Burgenland
Wien (Vienna)
Steiermark (Styria)

Question 15

Of the 4 generic winemaking regions in Austria, which two account for the majority of wine production?

Answer 15

Niederösterreich
Burgenland

Question 16

Wines from the 4 Austrian generic wine regions can make wine from how many permitted grape varieties and in what styles?

Answer 16

40 permitted grape varieties;
Any style.

Question 17

What are the 3 quality levels for wine in Austria?

Answer 17

From lowest quality to highest:

Wein (no GI)
Landwein (PGI)
Qualitätswein or DAC (PDO, the vast majority of Austrian wine)

DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllat) is a sub-catheory of QW.

Question 18

What geographical indication may bottles of Wein, the lowest quality level of wine in Austria, carry?

Answer 18

Wines labeled ‘Wein’ may not have a specific geographical indication.

The labels will simply state that the wine is from Austria by using the term “Österreich” or “österreichischer Wein,” an equivalent to ‘Vin de France’.

Question 19

What is Landwein’s geographic designation?

Answer 19

PGI, or Protected Geographic Indication

Question 20

What is Qualitätswein’s geographic designation?

Answer 20

PDO.

Question 21

Austrian Qualitätswein can come from either a ________ region or a ________ region.

Answer 21

SPECIFIC wine-growing region
GENERIC wine-growing region

Question 22

In Austria, what are the designations under Qualitätswein?

Answer 22

The four federal states and 7 of the 16 smaller areas are designated for the production of Qualitätswein.

Within the Qualitätswein category, wines may also be labelled as:
* KLASSIK – wines with a vintage declared and showing varietal character
* RESERVE – dry wines with a minimum 13% abv, typically harvested and released later than the standard wines.

Wines can be made from 35 (or 42?) permitted grape varieties and in any style.

Question 23

In Austria, the Prädikatsweine focus on medium-sweet and sweet wines.

What are the classifications of Prädikatswein?

Answer 23

There are 6 Prädikats levels:
- SPATLESE: means ‘late harvest’. Spätlese wines are made from grapes picked at least a week after the start of the standard harvest, at a minimum of 19 KMW.
- AUSLESE: means ‘selected harvest’. Auslese wines are made from ripe grapes (min. 21 KMW) affected to some degree by botrytis.
- BEERENAUSLESE (BA): means ‘berry selection’. Super-ripe grapes (min. 25 KMW) remain on the vine and are ‘selected’ only if affected by botrytis.
- AUSBRUCH: denotes a wine made exclusively from botrytis-affected berries. The most famous Ruster Ausbruch comes from the western shores of the Neusiedlersee.
- TROCKENBEERENAUSLESE (TBA): means ‘dry berry selection’. Grapes are left on the vine until reaching a botrytized and raisin-like state, with highly concentrated sugars (30 KMW).
- EISWEIN: means ‘ice wine’, and indicates that the grapes (min. 25 KMW) were harvested and pressed while naturally frozen.

STROHWEIN / SCHILFWEIN: literally ‘straw wine’ and ‘reed wine’. Grapes (min. 25 KMW) are air-dried, traditionally on mats made of straw or reeds, to concentrate their flavors and sugars.

(One degree KMW means 1g of sugar per 100g of grape must. )

Question 24

In Austria, how many smaller wine regions have elected to become DAC?

Answer 24

Austria’s DAC wine classification system was introduced in 2001 (2003?). More than just a geographical indicator, each DAC title represents both a region and its definitive wine style.

9 Austrian DAC titles:
Eisenberg DAC (Blaufrankisch)
Kamptal DAC (Gruner Veltliner, Riesling)
Kremstal DAC (Gruner Veltliner, Riesling)
Leithaberg DAC (Gruner Veltliner, Weissburgunder, Chardonnay, Blaufrankisch)
Mittelburgenland DAC (Blaufrankisch)
Neusiedlersee DAC (Zweigelt)
Traisental DAC (Gruner Veltliner, Riesling)
Weinviertel DAC (Gruner Veltliner)
Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC (traditional white blend from Vienna)

Question 25

Which Austrian DACs should you be familiar with for the exam?

How does a region become a DAC?

Answer 25

Weinviertel DAC (Gruner Veltliner)

Producers in a region must agree on a grape variety (or varieties), a style of wine(and a set of regulations to go with it) that they think best reflects their area, then the region can be awarded the DAC status.
Then, only wines that conform to this style can use the name of the appellation.

Question 26

What is Strohwein (aka Schilfwein)?

How is it made?

Answer 26

STROHWEIN / SCHILFWEIN: literally ‘straw wine’ and ‘reed wine’. Grapes (min. 25 KMW) are air-dried, traditionally on mats made of straw or reeds, to concentrate their flavors and sugars.

Question 27

What is Ruster Ausbruch DAC?

Answer 27

TBA wines from the city of Rust, situated on Lake Neusiedlersee, are labelled Ausbruch: it denotes a wine made exclusively from botrytis-affected berries.
The most famous of these, Ruster Ausbruch, comes from the western shores of the Neusiedlersee.

Question 28

In terms of land and aspect, what do Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal have in common?

Answer 28

Steep, often hand-built stone terraced, south -facing vineyards next to the Danube maximise exposure to the sun.
Hand harvesting.
They produce wines in a similar style and quality from either
Gruner Veltliner or Riesling.

Question 29

How is it that the Grüners and Rieslings from Wachau, Kamptal, and Kremstal can achieve full ripeness and highly concentrated flavors when they’re at such a northerly latitude?

Question 30

Which wine-growing area in Austria is largest in terms of size?

Answer 30

NIEDERÖSTERREICH

Question 31

What was Austria’s first DAC, and what is the only grape allowed under that DAC?

Answer 31

Weinviertel in 2001
Grüner Veltliner

Question 32

What are the two levels to Weinviertel DAC?

Answer 32

Klassikwinesmust be made in a light, fresh and
fruity style with no discernible oak flavours
Reserve wines must have a higher minimum alcohol and are
allowed to be matured in oak.

Question 33

What are the characteristics of Klassik wine in Austria?

What are the characteristics of Reserve wine in Austria?

Answer 33

Within the Qualitätswein category, wines may also be labelled as:
- KLASSIK wines must be made in a light, fresh and
fruity style with no discernible oak flavours
- RESERVE wines must have a higher minimum alcohol and are
allowed to be matured in oak

Question 34

What is the eastern region of Austria that borders Hungary?

Answer 34

BURGENLAND

Question 35

What styles of wine is Burgenland best known for?

Answer 35

Top-quality sweet wines and red wines.

Question 36

What are the principal red and white grapes grown in Burgenland?

Answer 36

Red: Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch and St Laurent.
White: Pinot Blanc, Welschriesling, Gruner Veltliner, Chardonnay.

Question 37

What is Burgenland’s most planted red variety?

Answer 37

Zweigelt

Question 38

Burgenland is warmed by winds coming from the _______.

Answer 38

Pannonian plain

Question 39

What is the principal red grape in Mittelburgenland DAC?

Answer 39

Blaufränkisch

Question 40

Neusiedlersee DAC is best known for red wines made from this grape.

Answer 40

Zweigelt

Question 41

Autumn fog and high humidity around this lake in northern Burgenland allows for ideal botrytis conditions to make sweet wine.

What grape is commonly used for these sweet, botrytized wines?

Answer 41

Welschriesling

Question 42

Can an Austrian Prädikatswein be labeled with a specific region where a DAC already exists for another style of wine?

If not, how must the wines be labeled?

Question 43

Landwein may be labeled with a broad geographic area. What are these 3 broad geographic areas?

Answer 43

Weinland, Steirerland or Bergland

Question 44

What is the must weight scale used in Austria?

Answer 44

KMW (Klosterneuburg Must Weight)
One degree KMW means 1g of sugar per 100g of grape must

Question 45

What are the 3 main soil types found in Austria?

Answer 45

There are two major soil types;
- thin soils over rock (granite or gneiss, crystalline bedrock material known locally as Urgestein), and
- richer soils such as loess.
Other soil types include limestone and schist (such as on the Leithaberg hills) as well as gravel and volcanic material (such as in Steiermark and parts of Kamptal).

Question 46

What is the word used for a single vineyard in Austria?

Answer 46

RIED
(Lage in Germany)

Question 47

What are the classifications used by Vinea Wachau?

What styles and grapes are allowed?

Answer 47

• Steinfeder – Fruity, dry wine, with a maximum of 11.5% abv; the lightest style.
• Federspiel – A more concentrated, dry wine with alcohol ranging from 11.5–12.5% abv.
• Smaragd – Typically a highly concentrated, dry wine, with ripe fruit flavours; minimum 12.5% abv.

Grüner Veltliner and Riesling

Question 48

There is a select group of producers in the Wachau that formed their own organization that categorizes wines from their region as they chose not to become a DAC.

What is the name of the organization?

Answer 48

Vinea Wachau

Question 49

What is Wiener Gemischter Satz?

Answer 49

The vineyards in the Federal State of Vienna are situated around and in the capital city. Most wines produced are made to be consumed immediately in informal local premises that sell newly made wines from the current harvest.
The DAC is a white wine called Wiener Gemischter Satz and must be a blend, of which 20 different grape varieties are permitted. It must also be dry and unoaked.