Austrian wine

White wine from the Danube, red from the Pannonian lowlands

Austrian vineyards are located almost entirely in the east of the country, where the Alps give way to hills and lowlands. The largest region is Lower Austria, which includes well-known areas such as the Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal and Weinviertel. In the Wachau, vines grow on steep stone terraces along the Danube. Southeast of Vienna lies Burgenland, warmer and flatter, around the large, shallow Lake Neusiedl. Most of the red wines and famous sweet wines come from there. In the south lies Styria, known for its fresh sauvignon blanc. And Vienna is one of the few capitals with its own vineyards within the city limits.

Grüner Veltliner is the national grape. It grows in about a third of all vineyards and produces fresh wine with green apple, citrus and a spicy hint of white pepper. Riesling is less widely planted, but produces top wines in Wachau and Kremstal. For red wine, Zweigelt is the most widely planted grape: an Austrian cross between Blaufränkisch and Sankt Laurent. In Wachau, you see three styles on the label: Steinfeder is light, Federspiel medium-bodied and Smaragd the ripest and fullest. After a scandal in the 1980s, Austria introduced one of Europe’s strictest wine laws, and since then the country has been known for clean, precisely made wine.