Austria Flashcards
Climate
Cool continental with local differences.
Those in the north are impacted by cool northerly winds and in the south by the warm Adriatic.
Those in the east are influenced by the warm Pannonian climate and in the west by the Alps.
Spring frosts are an issue in many areas. Hail is an issue in Steiermark. Water stress can be a concern in areas with free draining soils.
Soil
Two major types
Thin soils over rock (granite or gneiss, crystaline bedrock material known as Urgestein)
Richer soils like loess
Riesling usually on thin soils as it needs less water than Gruner
Gruner on loess or clay
Limestone and schist in the Leithaberg Hills and Volcanic in Steiermark and parts of Kamptal.
Vineyard Management
Lenz Moser was training in the 80’s; cordon trained 1.2 - 1.4m (higher than most) which required greater row spacing. Popular for high vol production. Easy to maintain and mechanized.
Now single or double guyot with VSP
Machine harvesting on flat land in Weinvertel and Burgenland. But around the Danube (Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal) vines are on stone terraces where all work is done by hand. 3 - 5x the hours of working on flat land.
Rainfall ranges from 450mm in Weinvertel to 850 in Steiermark. Overall disease pressure is low. Net 16.4% is organic or biodynamic and 3.5% more sustainable. Rainfall can be so low that irrigation is required.
Max yields are 67.5ha/hl and avg is 52
Grape Varieties
Gruner Veltliner 31% Zweigelt 14% Welchriesling 7% Blaufrankisch 7% Riesling 4% Weissburgunder 4%
Gruner Veltliner
31% of all plantings
Thrives in clay and loess soils which retain higher levels of water
Can be very vigorous on fertile soils so needs careful canopy management
Skins are thick and if juice left too long on them can impart a phenolic bitterness to the wines. Also have chemical compound that gives the characteristic peppery aroma.
Med plus to high acid, typ not oaked.
Range from simple with citrus and green fruit for early drinking (acceptable to good and inexpensive) to pronounced citrus and peach with complex aromas for ageing (good to outstanding and prem)
Welchriesling
Not related to Riesling
High levels of acidity with neutral aromatics
Mainly in Steiermark and makes fresh, neutral, unoaked dry wines of acceptable to good; inexpensive. Plantings in decline
Large plantings in Burgenland around the humid Neusiedlersee. Thin skins can be affected by noble rot and used for sweet wine production. Labeled as BA or TBA. High acid, pronounced tropical and dried fruit, age worthy. very good to outstanding and premium.
Also used in Sekt production
Riesling
Only 4% of plantings but very prized
Mainly in Niederosterreich where it is 2nd most planted white
Planted in warmer drier sites as it needs less water than Gruner
Almost always dry, full bodied, med alcohol, ripe stone fruit and sometimes tropical , high acid
can age 10 - 20 years and develop nutty, honey, petrol
very good to outstanding and prem.
Zweigelt
14% of all plantings; most red
Cross between Sankt Laurent and Blaufrankisch
Ripens earlier and more easily than Blaufrankisch
Can be high yielding and vigorous so careful canopy management is essential
Potassium deficiency can lead to withering of the grapes before they ripen leading to a loss of crop
Not susceptible to frost or rot
Med plus acid, with med tannin, red fruit, cherry. Styles range from easy drinking, fruity unoaked that are acceptable to good and inexpensive to mid
to full bodied, oaked styles, with ageing potential. very good and prem
Blaufrankisch
Med plus to high tannin, high acidity, deep color and black fruit.
Early budding (spring frost), late ripening so needs a warm climate to fully ripen so generally only in Burgenland
Thick skins so not as prone to rot as others, which is important in humid Neusiedlersee
Can produce high yields and if allowed will struggle to ripen creating wines with green flavors. When yields are managed produces age worthy intense wines.
Range from simple fruity wines with little to no oak (good / mid) to pronounced black fruit, spicy oak, high tannin (very good to outstanding and prem).
Leithaberg and Mittelburgenland are best
Sankt Laurent
Deep ruby, red cherry, med tannins
White Winemaking
Aim to preserve primary fruit and varietal character
Many use a short period of skin contact to maximize aromas and then ferment in a neutral vessel
Temp control to prevent the loss of aroma is common
Gruner and Riesling typ do not go through malo. hard to achieve with low pH and want to retain the primary character and acidity
Stored in old wood or stainless. Many leave wine on fine lees for 6 mo to add texture
Most fermented to dryness
Red winemaking
Large open top vessels with punch down or pump over
Some use ambient yeast
Stored in stainless or matured in old oak of 300L - 600L or larger. Helps soften tannins without oak flavor
A few prem are aged in barriques with a proportion of new
Some choose acacia over oak to give oxygenation without oak influence
Wine Laws & Legislation
DAC: Districtus Austriae Controllatus
Only four appellations without a DAC status
Tafelwein: wine without geographic indication
Landwein: Wine with protected geographic indication; PGI
Qualitatswein: wine with protected designation of origin; PDO. Must undergo govt inspection to ensure it meets quality standards. Inspection number will be on the label
Tafelwein & Landwein are 12% of all production with Qualitats and Pradikats the remainder
Within Qualitatswein can also be labeled:
Klassik: declared vintage and showing varietal character
Reserve: dry with min 13% abv; typically harvested and released later than standard wines
Kabinett does not fall within Pradikatswein but Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein, and Trockenbeerenauslese do
TBA in Rust on Neusiedlersee are called Ausbruch
Regionally Typical Qualitatswein - DAC
Created in 2002 to create an appellation system that would promote typicity. These wines can display their origin (i.e. Weinviertel or Kamptal) where those that do not conform have to use the larger Niederosterreich. 13 DAC’s
Only specified permitted grapes and meet tasting panel’s assessment of typicity. Not a guarantee of quality. Can use the terms Gebietswein (Regional), Ortswein (village), and Riedenwein (single vineyard)
Producer Groups
Osterreichische Traditionsweinguter: (OTW) founded in 1992. Based in Kamptal, Kremstal, Traisental, Wagram, Vienna, Camuntum. Classify in a similar fashion as Burgundy based on soil and climate. Single vineyard wines (Erste Lagen) have the 1 OTW logo on the label.
Vinea Wachau: Quality minded producers in the Wachau. Classified single vineyards based on soil and climate. Registered trademarks for three classifications of white wines:
Steinfeder: fruity, dry wine with max 11.5% abv; lightest
Federspiel: more concentrated, dry with 11.5% - 12.5% abv
Smaragd: highly concentrated dry wine with ripe flavors and min 12.5% abv
States with wine production
Niederosterreich
Burgenland
Steiemark
Wien
