Austrian Wine
Precious Culture – And Much More
Sensual enjoyment and great culture meet in every glass of Austrian wine.
Variety and individuality are the hallmarks of Austria’s wine-producing
regions, and every wine expresses eloquently the character of its area
of origin: the landscape and the people, and the incomparable elegance
and music of the Austrian savoir vivre.
Austrian wine is the product both of a cultural heritage embracing three millennia and of a very modern, forward-looking agriculture. It is much more than a wonderful accompaniment to the music of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Mahler. A new and creative generation of wine makers has established itself on the international market, and their wines are as much at home in the great restaurants of world’s capitals as they are surrounded by vines in a traditional Austrian country inn.
Despite having conquered the summits of the wine world there is no pretension, no snobbism associated with these wines. A racy Grüner Veltliner, a Welschriesling, and a velvety red wine are ideally suited for an evening among friends, and the monumental, nobly-sweet Trockenbeerenauslesen invite to a meditative evening alone or in good company.
Austrian
wine is a wine for all seasons, and all seasons of Austria’s landscape
are reflected in its wines: it reflects the sun when the rain clears off
the Styrian hills and the first rays break through the clouds painting
the wet contours of hills, trees and vines; it catches the light from
the Danube on a hot summer’s day in the terraced vineyards of the
Wachau, home to some of the world’s great Rieslings. A hot day calls
for one of these wines: a “Federspiel”, light and noble and
full of life.
Autumn is the season of wine: the magical time when the leaves begin to fall off the trees and the last warm days begin to yield to winter. This is the time of the “Heurigen”, of the wine of the current vintage, full of youth and fruit, still vibrant from its transformation from grape to wine. Later, when the mellow hills of the Burgenland are powdered with the year’s first snow, when early frosts are in the air and the wine makers still hope to have their patience rewarded with a harvest of ice wine, wine lovers go to their cellars to fetch a bottle of tannic, profound Blaufränkisch or silky Zweigelt. A fire place may give warmth from the outside – the wine replicates it from within.
An average of 33 litres of wine per head are drunk every year in Austria, though certainly not only by Austrians. Visitors to this country have also recognized the great advances in the wine industry. Our very dedicated gastronomic sector has shown the way here by reviving interest in Austrian wines and helping guests with competent advice and great enthusiasm. They have played an important role in establishing Austrian wines not only on wine lists at home and abroad, but also in the memories of their guests.
It is now a recognized fact that Austria produces world-class white wines, and specialized publications across the world lavish praise upon them time and again. The rarer Austrian red wines have always had a place in the hearts of wine lovers at home, and they frequently create surprises at international presentations and blind tastings. The best red wine makers take their lead from Burgundy and Bordeaux and have by now themselves been emulated by a younger generation. As far as sweet wines are concerned, Austria is blessed with the perfect conditions for true greatness, especially around Lake Neusiedl, and these wines have long since been recognized as some of the finest in the world.
Austria is a wine country of great individuality. With its unique grape varietals, its long history and national traditions it has evolved a wine culture unlike anywhere else in the world.
