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Austrian Wine Guide

Even for knowledgeable wine drinkers, the sort who regularly peruse the lists of independent merchants in order to snap up well priced bottles of Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Port, Austria was, for a long time, completely off their wine-sensing radars. And yet this nation produces fabulous, dry, food friendly wines (as well as sweet); so why have the wines of Austria been so absent from the international market for so long? There are several reasons. Firstly there was the diethylene glycol scandal of 1985; this is now old news, and should have no impact on our current perception of Austrian wine, but it received such Austrian winewidespread publicity, and damaged the Austrian wine industry to such an extent, that no Austrian wine guide is really complete without at least mentioning it. Diethylene glycol is a poisonous alcohol, which one or two unscrupulous négociants added to some bargain basement wines in a misguided attempt to make the wines more attractive when they reached their intended export market, Germany. It was very fortunate that no individual was injured as a result of this nefarious action, but the whole affair did immeasurable damage to the reputation of Austrian wine; the export market vanished, and it was years before the Austrians recovered. Austrian wine laws, overhauled as a direct consequence of this scandal, are now some of the most stringent to be found anywhere. Secondly, there is the simple matter of supply and demand. There is a thirsty home market, eager to consume what is produced in the small sweep of vineyards that run down Austria's eastern edge, bordering the Czech Republic and Hungary. And for those bottles that do make it beyond Austria's boundaries, there is a well-established export market in Germany, so it is perhaps unsurprising that little finds its way to other markets such as the UK and the USA. But those that do are, without doubt, worth seeking out.

The Wine Regions

Bordering the Czech Republic and Hungary is a swathe of Austrian vineyards - to try and take on a detailed knowledge of all these regions is a daunting proposal; fortunately, to get acquainted with Austrian wine, such an exhaustive approach is not necessary. It is better we start with the three or four regions of most significance; I would begin with Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal most certainly, and as acknowledgement to the fabulous sweet wines produced around Lake Neusiedl, we should quickly look at the Neusiedlersee region.

The triad of Wachau, Kremstal and Kamptal neighbour one another in Lower Austria (one of the country's nine states), and are the three regions now most on the lips of wine drinkers. Collectively they are the source of many of the high quality dry Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners that have fuelled the Austrian wine renaissance. This is a region of great natural beauty, and the steep terraced slopes around the Danube, as it flows through Wachaul, en route for Hungary, have been declared a World Heritage site. The topography of Kremstal, named for the town of Krems, site of the region's viticultural college, is somewhat different, as the land opens out and the Danube flows across a great plain. Kamptal is named after the River Kamp, a tributary of the Danube which now flows to the south; here the activity centres around the busy town of Langenlois. The regions boast a number of Austria's top winemakers; a mere selection of names to look out for include:

To the southeast, down around Lake Neusiedl (Neusiedlersee), there is another region with a reputation for great wines. This is Burgenland, another of Austria's nine states, and the Neusiedlersee fosters the damp conditions that are right for the development of Botrytis. Thus the greatest wines produced here are sweet; a tiny selection of names to look out for include:

Grapes and Regulations

Austrian wineLest we forget, it's not all Riesling and Grüner Veltliner, not all dry white or sweet; there's much more to Austrian wine than this simple introduction has so far suggested. Firstly, although Riesling seems to lead the way in quality stakes, we should acknowledge that Grüner Veltliner has much to offer and should not automatically take second place behind its better known cousin. This food friendly wine is Austria's specialty, its unique selling point; dry as is preferred by many, full of flavour, bearing fresh acidity, and with its distinctive white pepper characteristic, it is no wonder that GV is found on more and more restaurant lists today. But what of the other white grapes, and what of the reds? Other white grapes include Welschriesling, not related to Riesling proper, as well as Weissburgunder (Pinot Blanc) and Chardonnay. None challenge Riesling and GV for dry wines, in my opinion, but they may play a significant role in sweet wines, such as those of Kracher. There are red grapes too, regional specialties such as Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, as well as Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Advocates of Austrian wine extol the virtues of these varieties in Austria, but I remain yet to be convinced, although I readily admit - before you may disagree with me - that I have only sampled a tiny number of examples.

As far as regulations go, its best to keep it simple. For the dry wines of Wachau, the term Smaragd (emerald) is frequently encountered, along with an image of the Emerald Lizard, on wines produced by members of the Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus, the region's viticultural organisation to which almost all Wachau winemakers belong. Qualifying wines have a must weight of 18.2º KMW, equivalent to 82.5º Oechsle, and are fermented to a dry state; the ABV must be greater than 12%, and those with a residual sugar greater than 9 g/l are excluded from the category. Lesser categories include Steinfeder and Federspiel. The classification of sweet wines is remarkably similar to that of Germany, with categories such as Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, and Eiswein. These are, from the best winemakers, some of Europe's greatest sweet wines, and deserve a space in any cellar that already bears a bottle or two of Sauternes, Vouvray or Tokay.