Grüner veltliner is the great Austrian grape that has become for Austria what riesling is for Germany, malbec for Argentina and carmenère for Chile. Now, however, many growers are worried, among them Lenz Moser. The area planted with grüner veltliner has fallen in recent years, from 20 000 hectares to 13 500 hectares today. Instead, [...]
Tag Archives | Austria
Austria: a selection of exciting wine producers
Impressive variety and quality in both white and red wines from Austria Austria is a wine country that deserves to be discovered by a wider audience. Elegant, stylish white wines and, perhaps more of a surprise, exciting and characterful red wines of high quality. A number of wine producers from Austria recently visited Stockholm and [...]
Neusiedlersee DAC becomes the 8th DAC appellation in Austria
Neusiedlersee is the latest addition to the Austrian “appellations”, DAC. On March 28 the Austrian agriculture ministry approved the promotion of Neusiedlersee to DAC. The Neusiedlersee DAC can be used already from the 2011 vintage so we will soon see bottles appearing on the market. Interestingly, this will be a DAC that is focussed mainly [...]
A new appellation in Austria: Neusiedlersee DAC
Neusiedlersee is the latest addition to the Austrian “appellations”. In Austria they are called DAC, or Districtus Austriae Controllatus. On March 28 the Austrian agriculture ministry approved the promotion of Neusiedlersee to DAC. The Neusiedlersee DAC can be used already from the 2011 vintage so we will soon see bottles appearing on the market. Interestingly, [...]
Harvest report 2011: A good vintage in Austria
The harvest reports keep coming in from various regions. Over all the producers seem happy, more or less, even though there were some problems, at least in France. But of course, nobody wants to be too pessimistic about a vintage! Anyway, each year has its charm, doesn’t it? Here is a report from Austria. Harvest [...]
11 wine regions to discover (or rediscover) during 2012
We probably all have a tendency sometimes to choose the wine that sounds familiar or what happens to be easiest to find on the shelf. Here is a list to encourage you to look for those things that are a bit more off the beaten path in terms of wine regions. 1. Apulia, southern Italy [...]
Harvest report 2011: A good vintage in Austria
The wine harvest in Austria in 2011 was overall good in quality as well as quantity according to the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. It was not a year without problems, warm weather for example led to low acidities unless the winemaker was careful. The volume was up to “normal” levels after a 2010 that was [...]
The 2012 calendar with sexy winemakers launched
Sorry ladies, it is not handsome vineyard farmers looking for spouses (does that TV program exist elsewhere?). It is twelve young female wine growers who have made a calendar, the Jungwinzerinnen Kalender. Each month in the calendar is illustrated with a lightly (very) clad grower, dressed in nothing but lace underwear. The idea, one assumes, [...]
Vineyard area in Austria
Austria has around 46,000 hectares of vineyards. That is roughly one third of Bordeaux (and some). There are four main regions: Burgenland, Niederösterriech, Steiermark and Wien. Niederösterriech is by far the biggest region with 60% of the total. Here are the details for all the wine districts in Austria: Wine Growing Region: Surface in ha, [...]
Weingut Nikolaihof, Mautern, Wachau, Austria
The oldest wine estate in Austria, dating back to 985, has for the past 110 years housed a unique family of vintners. The merchant Saahs family bought this run-down Wachau property from the church at the end of the 19th century. And for nearly four decades now, its driving force has been an environmentally conscious [...]
Growing Gruner – part 4: Still not a sign of life…
The story of planting a gruner veltliner vine Still not a sign of life on my cuttings from gruner veltliner that I got at the European Wine Bloggers Conference in Vienna last October. Here is how they look now: and In contrast, here’s how another vine looks – from a cabernet franc (or merlot?) from [...]
Growing Gruner – part 3: I’m getting worried.
Continuing the story of growing a gruner veltliner vine from cuttings that I received at the European Wine Bloggers Conference in Vienna. I am starting to get a bit worried. Weather has been nice. We have not had any hail on the kitchen window sill (where the vine is standing). But is it growing? Will [...]
Growing Gruner – part 2: tiny, tiny roots?
After about 5 days in water there is maybe, maybe the beginning of tiny roots on the gruner veltliner cuttings. I’ve had to change the water several times, to keep it fresh. Here’s how it looks right now: If you look closely you can see a little white spot on what looks like a bud. [...]
Growing Gruner – part 1: in water
This is not at all about ‘green’ vine growing. It’s about gruner veltliner, the star white grape variety of Austria. Last November I visited Austria for the European Wine Bloggers Conference (#EWBC). At one of the tastings we were given cuttings of gruner veltliner to take home (easier to carry than wine bottles!) with simple [...]
Most planted grape varieties in Austria
According to Austrian Wines / Statistik Austria, Vineyard Survey 2009 these are the most planted grape varieties in Austria. Whites first: Grüner Veltliner 29% (+) Welschriesling 8% (-) Müller Thurgau 5% (-) Weißburgunder 4% (?) Riesling 4% (=) Chardonnay 3% (?) Sauvignon Blanc 2% (++) Gemischter Satz 2% (-) Neuburger 1% (-) Muskateller 1% (++) [...]
New (old) site about Austrian wines
Most “generic” wine sites, i.e. sites done by various regions marketing organisations, are generally not much to write home about (or on a blog). Often they are very short on concrete information and heavy on glossy flash illustrations that are hopeless to navigate. The Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB) has just released a new version [...]
Austrian Wines hosts this year’s Wine Bloggers Conference
The third European Wine Bloggers’ Conference (#ewbc on Twitter), will take place in Austria in October – the first time the event is held outside of the Iberian Peninsula. This is thanks to the main sponsor and co-organiser, the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (AWMB, www.winesfromaustria.com) and their forward looking strategy to work with ‘social media’. [...]
New Austrian wine region: Eisenberg DAC
The Austrian agriculture minister has signed a new “appellation“, what in Austria is called a DAC: Eisenberg DAC. The region is located in Südburgenland and includes the districts Oberwart, Güssing and Jennersdorf. Eisenberg DAC should be made from 100% blaufränkisch grapes and should have a spicy minerality. The soil type is the in Austria often [...]
Austrian wine export surges
Austrian wine export for 2009 went much better than expected in 2009. Export sales was up by 5.3% in volume and 16% in value compared to 2008. Total exports reached 70 million litres, worth 119 M euro. The biggest export markets were Germany (+15% in volume, +9% in value), and Switzerland/Lichtenstein (+27% / +6%). Other [...]
Weingut Erich Machherndl, Wachau, Austria – BKWine Pick
Erich Machherndl in Weissenkirchen in der Wachau is a master of the Austrian grape variety grüner veltliner. A good example is his Grüner Veltliner Federspiel 2008, with a high acidity, very clean and crisp style. “That’s exactly how I want it” says Erich. He started working in the vineyard with his father in 1997. Now [...]
Weingut Franz Leth, Fals am Wagram, Austria – BKWine Pick
Wagram is an Austrian wine region a short distance west of Vienna totalling 2500 ha. The make primarily white wines and grüner veltliner accounts for 55% of the production. Winemaker Franz Leth also makes predominantly white wines but has expanded his production of reds recently. Try for instance his Grüner Veltliner Brunnthal 2008 (~12€), a [...]
The Ultimate Austrian Wine Guide (2009/2010 edition)
The Ultimate Austrian Wine Guide (2009/2010 edition) By: Peter Moser Publisher: Falstaff Publications We’ve previously reviewed this book, in an earlier edition, so this is just an update. And it’s well worth mentioning again! The title tells it all. This is the ultimate guide to Austrian wines, as far as we know. The bulk of [...]
Austrian wine exports up
For the first six months 2009 Austrian wine exports were up 10% in volume and only marginally down in value (-1.8%). Austria needs be cautious in the longer run though, since the general price level has fallen and an increasing portion of the exports are in bulk rather than in bottle (especially to Germany). “For [...]
An introduction to Austrian wine [E] – BKWine TV
An introduction to Austrian wine and wine regions with views of some of the vineyards. On the grape varieties grown: gruner veltliner, riesling, zweigelt, gewurztraminer, pinot noir and others. Some words on the wine styles, the fresh crisp and fruity white wines. Views from the different wine regions and vineyards: Wachau, Niederosterreich, Rust, Neusiedlesee, Burgenland, [...]
Weingut Emmerich Knoll, Austria [E] – BKWine TV
Weingut Emmerich Knoll is a winery and vineyard located in Unterloiben (Durnstein) in eastern Wachau in Lower Austria. They make almost exclusively white wine, from the grape varieties gruner veltliner and riesling, and a little bit of traminer and muskateller. Emerich Knoll talks about his wines and also of the vintage and harvest 2007 which [...]
Willy Brundlmayer, a top wine producer in Austria
Willy Brundlmayer is one of the big wine producers in Austria. They are (in an Austrian perspective) one of the biggest producers, but, and more interestingly, they are also one of the top quality producers. A while back we met Willy Bruendlmayer, the owner and winemaker and made an interview where he talks about his [...]
Willy Brundlmayer, Austrian winemaker interview [E] – BKWine TV
Interview with Willy Brundlmayer, owner and winemaker. Weingut Brundlmayer (or Bruendlmayer) is an old family winery that is located in Langenlois, about one hour away from Vienna in Austria. Today it is run by Willy Bruendlmayer. They have some very old vineyards with vines that are even 80-100 years old. Because of global warming and [...]
Robert Parker likes Austrian wines
In the latest versions of eRobertParker David Schildknecht (one of Parker’s collaborators) rates and comments on Austrian wines. Of the 500 wines that are covered just over 200 are rated as “outstanding” (i.e. gets more than 90 points). All wines are from the 2006 vintage. Schildknecht especially likes the Blaufränkisch wines. www.weinausoesterreich.at and www.erobertparker.com
Record exports for Austrian wines
Austria continues to develops its wine exports. In 2007 it is estimated that exports will reach 56 million litres or €105 M. Contributing to the positive figures is the fact that the average price of a bottle sold on export has also increased. The biggest markets are Germany, Switzerland and the USA. www.winesfromaustria.com
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