Four new white grape varieties have just been approved for use in Austrian Qualitätswein (quality wine) Three of these are so-called PIWIs, which is fungal resistant crossings. PIWI is a German abbreviation for Pilzwiderstandsfähig (literally fungus resistant). The fourth grape is Goldmuskateller, a regular Vitis vinifera that also has a good resistance to rot. The […]
Birgit Braunstein lives in the village of Purbach in Austria, located in the Burgenland region. Her family has a long tradition of growing grapes and making wine. The tradition goes back to the 17th century, but Birgit’s first vintage under her own name saw the light only in 1996. Since 2000, the farming has been […]
It is not every day one can enjoy a wealth of Austrian wines in Paris. It’s a pity. I’ve been to Austria several times and the wines I have tasted are fantastic. Outstanding whites and reds that are not so well know, from not so well-known indigenous varieties, that are also making great headway. And […]
Sweden is definitely a cool climate wine country. We have a few brave wine producers, most of them very small and most of them in the southernmost part of Sweden. Fredholms Wine Estate in Tyringe in Skåne is one and recently this estate received a medal, a “seal of approval” in AWC Vienna for its […]
Demeter is a large, global organization that certifies biodynamic wine growers and other farmers. But Demeter is not alone in doing this. In France, Biodyvin certifies around 100 members. And now there is also a third group, with headquarters in Austria, called Respekt-Biodyn. This group is working, just like Biodyvin, only the wineproducers. Respekt-Biodyn’s members […]
Two years ago, my overall impression from Handpicked’s range tasting was very positive. It focused on smaller producers who had “something extra” that can make the difference in a large wine selection. (Handpicked Wines is a Swedish importer specialising in wines from small-ish producers.) It was therefore with great expectations that I looked forward to […]
The Umathum family has been grape grower and farmer for many generations in Burgenland in eastern Austria. Joseph Umathum has been at the helm of the company since 1985. Since the early 90s Umathum is recognized as one of the top wine producers in Austria. The vineyards are situated on the eastern, northern and western […]
Organic producers are criticized for their use of copper in the vineyards. The EU allows 6 kilograms of copper per hectare and per year for organic producers, as we mentioned recently (Organic viticulture: How do you use less copper?). But one of our readers, Gottfried Lamprecht, an organic wine producers in southern Austria, has pointed […]
Uncorked: Under this heading we collect various wines that we have tasted, and liked, recently. It can be wines that we have had during dinner at home, at wine tastings, press lunches, visits to vineyards, or other occasions. We describe the wines just with a few short sentences, tasting notes that we hope will give […]
Difficult year saved somewhat by nice autumn weather to give good quality but low quantity It has been a difficult 2014 in Austria, as in many other parts of Europe. A poor summer, with sometimes very awful weather, has made life difficult for wine growers in Austria (as well as elsewhere in Europe). But also […]
It is now a few years since I had the opportunity to visit Austria. That is sad because Austria is a wonderful wine country. Lovely whites from the famous grüner veltliner, robust and sometimes elegant reds from the Austrian signature varieties of zweigelt, blaufränkisch and sankt laurent. But you can also find more internationally well-known […]
It seems that the wine harvest in Austria was a difficult one but that in the end it can give some good wines, albeit with high acidity (good ageing potential?), and some excellent sweet wines. We have not been in Austria this year, unfortunately, so we cannot give you our own impressions. We have previously […]
It seems that the wine harvest in Austria was a difficult one but that in the end it can give some good wines, albeit with high acidity (good aging potential?), and some excellent sweet wines. We have not been in Austria this year, unfortunately, so we cannot give you our own impressions. We have previously […]
In Austria, they call their appellations DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus). The newest and ninth DAC has just been approved: Wiener Gemischter Satz. It is a strange appellation, or at least unusual appellation, perhaps even unique. The rules stipulate that the vineyard must be planted with at least three different varieties (i.e. a field blend). To […]
Vinovativa’s 10th anniversary and grand tasting: Austria, Barolo, Bordeaux, Cahors, Douro Valley, New Zealand, Piedmont, Priorat, Saint Emilion, sherry, Tuscany, Germany, and more! Wine importer Vinovativa has over ten years positioned itself as one with a wide range of wines with wines from the world represented. At the same time, they focus mainly on smaller […]
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, […]
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 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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
It is too seldom one comes to Austria. Both the wine districts and the countryside are well worth a visit. And if you come to Vienna there is now a wealth of wine bars and restaurants to discover. Julia Sevenich is an American wine writer who lives in Austria so one could hardly find a […]
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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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