It seems like Austrian wine is having a moment, and chances are that you have seen a wine from Austria on a menu recently. Austria has a long tradition of winemaking that dates from the roman empire. There are even records of the presence of the monks of Citeaux (in Burgundy) in the Danube area. History, tradition and a bit of drama *we all love a bit of drama*, the Austrian wine history has it all.

If you want to venture into wine from Austria, or if you are already there but you want to know more about it, The Wine Snug has published a beginner’s guide that will be perfect for you. This guide focuses on still, dry wines and as a bonus, it includes information on 14 note-worthy Austrian wines along with tips on where to get them (or drink them) right now in Ireland.The information below is a preview of the contents you can find in the guide.

Interesting Facts

• In Austria, there is a strong culture of drinking wine while eating food so most of their wines are designed to be a great pairing for food
• Do you enjoy wines made with hand-harvested grapes? You are in luck because, in Austria, it is mandatory to harvest the grapes by hand
• The Austrian appellation system went from being based on village names (up to 1960) to being based on the grape variety (1970s)
• The classification allows for cru vineyards (Grand and Premier). Grosse Lage means Grand Cru and Erste Lage means Premier Cru
• There is a single-vineyard summit held in Grafenegg (a picturesque town in Austria also known for its strong musical tradition) where wine professionals gather for a silent tasting. This event was one of Austria’s best-kept secrets and it gathers the best wines of Austria.
• Austria is known for its white wines but they also produce fine examples of red wine

Regions, Styles & Grapes

For this beginner’s guide to wine from Austria, we are focusing on white and red still wines (still refers to those wines that are not sparkling) and that also are dry (not sweet).

This is a summary of the geographical region (in bold) plus the distinctive style of wine and grape variety.

📍 Austria South: Steiermark

Typical style & grape variety: white wines made from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

📍 South of the Danube: Burgenland, Thermenregionl, Carnuntum.

Typical style & grape variety: red wines made from Zweigelt, Blaufränkisch & the Pinot family.

📍 North of the Danube: Niederösterreich, Vienna

Typical style & grape variety: white wines made from Grüner Veltliner & Riesling.

If you are more of a visual person, check out this gorgeous map from Amble Wine. They sell fantastic books about wine. (If you want a discount, use the code THEWINESNUG at checkout).

1985 – A Black Year

Yes, 1985 was a devastating year for the Austrian wine industry. It is essential to know this context to understand why the regulations in the country are amongst the most strict in the world, and probably the most stringent in Europe.

Back in 1985, it emerged that some Austrian wineries added a chemical compound, called diethylene glycol, to their wines in order to make them appear more full-body and sweet. This chemical is a component in some antifreeze brands and of course, it is not considered fit for human consumption so it is illegal to add it to the wine. Imagine the conundrum! Austrian wine bottles were removed from several markets and destroyed. If you want to know more about this, read this article.

It took more than a decade for the Austrian wine industry to recover. A positive consequence was the creation of strict regulations for winemaking which has promoted the creation of higher-quality wines and full oversight of the process.

Airtight Regulations

From those dark times, the Austrians went all hands-on to tackle the problem and created rigid laws for the wine industry. In 2002 they created their DAC system (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) with the objective of promoting the typicity of each region. This system is similar to the AOC of the French (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée).

Regions, Styles And Grapes

For a summary of the geographical wine regions in Austria along with the distinctive style of wine produced in each one and their grape varieties, visit The Wine Snug.

In this article, you can also find:

• A Visual gallery of the most important wine appellations in Austria 
• All about the hierarchy in the Appellation System of the country
• Information about the oldest winery in the Danube Region
• Great insights about 14 superb Austrian wines plus details on where to find them in Ireland, retail and restaurants. 

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Article by Ara Esparza

Ara Esparza – Dubliner, made in Mexico.

Ara likes talking about wine (and tasting it too!). She created THE WINE SNUG to help people discover and drink better wine. THE WINE SNUG is a space for all things wine: conversation, learning quick tips and sharing nuggets of wine knowledge. Besides being a marketer, Ara holds a WSET Level 2 certification in wine, she is in the process of obtaining her Level 3 cert.