In wine and sparkling wine you can taste the region
Visit the winemaker
For two decades, wine from Austria has persistently evolved. The result: Austrian wine, be it Grüner Veltliner from Lower Austria, Styrian Sauvignon Blanc from Styria or Blaufränkisch from Mittelburgenland, has become an insider tip even in Tokyo, New York and Sydney. Anyone holidaying in Austria has the opportunity to get a glimpse behind the scenes and learn about where the wine comes from. As always, many roads lead to the destination.
The most common, but certainly not the most boring way: A visit to the vintner. Austrian wineries are almost always family businesses and are often visually distinguished by a special feature: their great courage to modern architecture. Whether in the very south of Styria or small villages in Burgenland: What the winegrowers have established is something to be proud of. It goes without saying that guests are welcome in the new (and old) wine cellars and tasting rooms. If you book in advance, the vintners will usually give you a personal tour of the production facilities and cellars.
Tips for explorers
What makes Austrian wine so special?
A key factor is the wine tradition: viticulture has been deeply rooted in what is now Austria for thousands of years. Vineyards are an integral part of the landscape, culture, and daily life. This tradition is also reflected in Austria's unique grape varieties, many of which are exclusively found in the country's wine-growing regions. Here, they thrive under ideal climatic and geological conditions, producing authentic wines with distinctive character and personality.
The diversity of Austria's wine landscape is mirrored in the variety of wine styles, ranging from vibrant, light wines to powerful, monumental whites, from charming, fruity reds to robust, long-lasting ones, and not least, exquisite sweet wines that are undeniably among the best in the world.
From the cellar vault to the vinotheque
Heurigen and Buschenschanken
You've just strolled through the old town, and now you're sitting in the middle of greenery: the vineyards on the outskirts of Vienna, such as the Nussberg, are reached in no time from the city centre and promise culinary delights in the glass and on the plate. Grüner Veltliner or Gemischter Satz - a Viennese wine speciality that has experienced a real renaissance in recent years - is accompanied by savoury, homemade delicacies from the Heurigen buffet, which harmonise wonderfully with the fine wines. Always included on the side is the sensational view of the city.
In the beginning, the Viennese Heurigen were rustic wine taverns, where people sat down on long wooden benches to enjoy a meal. Their trademark was a sign above the gate, signalling that the Heuriger was open. This ritual has not changed to this day, but the number and variety of pubs where you can enjoy the excellent Viennese wine has.
Wine Experiences in Austria
Discover Austria's Wine Roads
The grape is a great little fruit: it refreshes and is sweet and sour at the same time. It is blue-purple or greenish-white and likes to grow in Austria. Here it has fresh air, lush soil, plenty of sun and silence, interrupted only by the people who take great care of the precious vines. The small berry is the essence of the best wines and sparkling wines. What would weddings, New Year's Eve and the ball season in Vienna be without the sparkle in the slender glass?
Viennese sparkling
Schlumberger knows what is good: Since 1842, the sparkling wine producer has relied on the "Méthode traditionelle" from the French Champagne region. The result: each bottle contains the essence of the best Austrian grapes, which are picked and processed by hand with the utmost care. The cellar-mark on the bottom of the bottle is the mark of quality for this elaborate process that takes years to complete. No wonder sparkling wine from Schlumberger is the secret star at the Vienna Opera Ball every year.
Burgenland, Lake Neusiedl, Gols
The place where Peter Szigeti likes to be the most? His vineyards. There he tends and examines his grapes with the eye of an expert who is also an enthusiast. Because only the best of the hand-picked, sun-ripened grapes from the Neusiedler See and Seewinkel region make it into the selected circle. These are then processed into sparkling wine, where they can show their varietal character.
Lower Austria, Kamptal, Langenlois
Around the old Gobelsburg Castle, the Pinot noir, Riesling and Grüner Veltliner grape varieties grow in a fairytale atmosphere. When the grapes are ripe, they are carefully picked into small crates and gently pressed. Then they are allowed to linger in the barrel - for six months - until the base of the sparkling wine is ready to be bottled. There it rests for another two to three years - until the "grande finale," when it is shaken by hand and disgorged, meaning freed of yeast.
Lower Austria, Kamptal, Langenlois
"Light salmon pink with red-gold reflections, fine persistent mousseux, scent of cherries and wild strawberries, a hint of citrus, caramel, yeast notes, fruity and creamy", this is how experts describe the charming Bründlmayer sparkling wine "Brut Rosé", which is pressed in equal parts from the three red grapes Pinot noir, Zweigelt and St. Laurent.
Lower Austria, Kamptal, Langenlois
Alwin and Stefanie Jurtschitsch have great respect for nature. That is why they also farm their soils organically. They are convinced that only healthy soils and vigorous vines can produce a high-quality sparkling wine like the "Brut Nature". The foundation for this creation is 100% Grüner Veltliner from a high and cool site, which is left on lees for four and a half years according to the "Méthode traditionelle" - but then receives no dosage. Pure nature.
Lower Austria, Kamptal, Langenlois
When it comes to cru champagnes like those from the Steininger winery, not only the grape varieties used are important, but also the terroir on which the vines ripen: The Riesling comes from the Heiligenstein vineyard, which is considered an insider tip among wine lovers. The Grüner Veltliner comes from the sun-drenched Steinhaus site. These conditions and the careful second fermentation in the bottle make the basic sparkling wines of the winery particularly clear, fruity and fragrant creations.
Lower Austria, Weinviertel
The sparkling wines produced by Christian Madl from the Weinviertel can almost be called art. In addition to his really good intuition, he also has the best soils: the area around Poysdorf in the Weinviertel is known for its outstandingly suitable microclimate. And this favors the production of sparkling wines of the highest quality, which is also proven: by numerous Austrian, German and French awards.
South Styria, St. Nikolai im Sausal
Hannes Harkamp is hard to please. He constantly wants to make his sparkling wines even better. Fortunately, he is blessed with particularly limestone-rich soils in the Sausal region of southern Styria. To emphasize the delicately creamy and somewhat full-bodied character in the sparkling wine that is so appreciated, he has his base wines for the "Brut Reserve" fermented in wooden barrels. Only a few sparkling wine producers do this. And that makes his creations something truly exceptional.
Years pass before the grapes become a fine sparkling wine. In between - according to the "Méthode traditionelle" - they are harvested, prepared, bottled. And waited. Until the dosage, the great secret of every producer. This elaborate game is celebrated, for example, by Schlumberger, one of the oldest (since 1842) and most traditional sparkling wine cellars in the country. But sparkling wines from other domestic wineries also delight the palates of great connoisseurs.
Did you know that ...
... the bottom of a champagne bottle has a deeper curvature than a wine bottle? This equalizes the pressure of the sparkling bubbles and distributes it evenly throughout the bottle.
... in the "Méthode traditionelle" (traditional bottle fermentation) the sparkling wine remains in the same bottle from the first to the last step of production.
... champagne bottles are placed upside down and at an angle on shaking desks, shaken a total of 32 times, rotated by an eighth, and set at a steeper angle each time?