{"id":5113,"date":"2021-11-09T12:12:41","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T17:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/?p=5113"},"modified":"2021-11-09T14:15:33","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T19:15:33","slug":"a-complete-guide-to-austrian-wine-regions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/a-complete-guide-to-austrian-wine-regions\/","title":{"rendered":"A Complete Guide To Austrian Wine Regions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we continue through our exploration of European wine countries, we can\u2019t forget about Germany and Italy\u2019s neighbor, Austria. Many people don\u2019t think of Austria when it comes to the world of wine, but in doing so, they miss out on learning some delicious history. In fact, Austrian wine has been around for quite some time; some vines go back thousands of years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, what does that mean for a visit to Austria\u2019s wine country? What are their wines even like?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You wonder, we answer. Explore our complete guide to Austrian wine regions here!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Important Austria Wine Facts<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like we mentioned, the history of Austria is quite robust. Though part of you may think Austrian wine is more \u201cNew World,\u201d since you may have just learned about its winemaking, that\u2019s actually untrue. Grape growing in Austria began with the Celts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then the Cistercian monks came, hauling Burgundian varieties. Simply put, in the early centuries, Austrian wine was exploding in popularity. But then, the last century came about and it put quite the damper on Austrian winemaking. There were the World Wars, annexation, transitions in political stances. And with that came the loss of half the country\u2019s vines. Interesting information grew from all of Austria\u2019s hardships. Take a look:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>High Standards: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Austria prides itself on quality wine. You can find well-made, artisan wines chock full of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">brilliant<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> value, all for an accommodating price.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Vineyard Size Shrinkage: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since half of its vines were lost, Austria\u2019s vineyard area is only a bit smaller than Piemonte, Italy. But some stunning wines are within\u2014the small country packs quite the punch.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>What About Vienna? <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vienna is the only major city in the world with vineyards within city limits that make an impact on the country\u2019s economics.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Austrian Wine Regions: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are three main wine regions that have quite a few sub-regions within them. Learn about them below!\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nieder\u00f6sterreich<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest wine region in Austria is Nieder\u00f6sterreich, and it has a whopping eight subregions within it. Also known as Lower Austria, this region has three climatic zones, which means Austria can produce a variety of wine styles. Each region has some of their own specific flagship wines and styles, and those regions are: Carnuntum, Kamptal, Kremstal, Thermenregion, Traisental, Wachau, Wagram, and Weinviertel. We\u2019ll discuss a few of the most popular ones below.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carnuntum<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carnuntum is south of the Danube river. Although it\u2019s one of the smallest of the Nieder\u00f6sterreich sub-regions, the wines here still pack a punch. The focus on wines here shifts away from whites and veers toward robust reds. Think Zweigelt, but don\u2019t hesitate to try some smaller sinuous red options in some of the smaller vineyards.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kamptal<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of Austria\u2019s largest wine-producing towns is right within Kamptal. Here, you\u2019ll find some of the most quintessential European wine views. Think storied vineyards right along the river, rolling hills in the backdrop. It\u2019s full of gorgeous landscapes you won\u2019t be able to tear yourself away from.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try Out: Gr\u00fcner Veltliner and their white Pinot varieties<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thermenregion<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You\u2019ll find Thermenregion south of Vienna. In this hot and dry region, you can actually find two of Austria\u2019s most unusual grape varieties\u2014Zierfandler and Rotgipfler. They\u2019re often blended to create a full-bodied white you don\u2019t want to miss.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wachau<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wachau is a UNESCO world heritage site located in the Danube valley. The valley is full of super steep inclines, but wonderfully enough, these inclines face the south. This means you\u2019ll get plenty of sun and quite expressive wines. The region actually has its own classification system for the ripeness of whites!<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wagram<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wagram holds Austria\u2019s largest privately owned winery: Stift Klosterneuburg. This isn\u2019t a region to pass by. In fact, if there\u2019s one region to go and try a Gr\u00fcner Veltliner, this may just be the place. If you sit on banks along the Danube, you\u2019ll see lots of stunning views.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Weinviertel<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The last sub-region from the Nieder\u00f6sterreich is the largest in the country. In fact, the region has been filling Austria\u2019s glasses for centuries. Featuring lighter, fresher styles, this is the place that houses grapes for most Austrian sparkling wines.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Burgenland<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It seems like nothing can top the Nieder\u00f6sterreich region, but Burgenland comes quite close, especially in the realm of red wines. The climate in this area is quite different from the others: it\u2019s quite hot. This results in some incredible red wine varieties. There are four sub-regions: Neusiedlersee, Leithaberg, Mittelburgenland, and Eisenberg or Sueburgenland. We\u2019ll talk about them below.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neusiedlersee<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neusiedlersee is named after the lake to the east. It has hills, flatlands, and a great offering of grape varieties. Welschriesling and Zweigelt are the principal varieties you\u2019ll see, but there are almost 500 wineries in the region, so you have quite a few to choose from.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mittelburgenland<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mittelburgenland has lots of red wines. Blaufr\u00e4nkisch is the grape that set the tone for the area. It\u2019s characterized by deep berry and cherry tones. Furthermore, it\u2019s even acidic. When you drink a red wine made from such a berry, you\u2019ll get a wine full of character. And the best part is it\u2019s right in the middle of the beautiful countryside.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Steiermark<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Steiermark is located at the southeastern curve of the country and makes up only 10 percent of the vineyards in Austria. It\u2019s filled with rolling hills, aromatic white wines, and three beautiful subregions (Weststeiermark, Vulkanland Steiermark, S\u00fcdsteiermark.) It\u2019s the epitome of Austria\u2019s \u201csmall, but mighty\u201d concept. We\u2019ll touch on the two main players below.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vulkanland Steiermark<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Volcanic soils make for some interesting wines. In this beautiful region, you\u2019ll find Pinot Blanc, Morillon, Traminer, and so much more. And of course, there are so many divine views to take in.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">S\u00fcdsteiermark<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re looking for refreshing and fragrant whites, then S\u00fcdsteiermark is a beautiful place to go. This region has extremely steep slopes, so growing grapes out there is hard work\u2014but that the effort that goes into creating the wines only makes tasting them even more of a reward. A variety of grapes, a slew of wineries, and delicious wine\u2014what could be better?<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Try Out: Gelber Muskateller or Muscat Blanc<\/span><\/h4>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What About Vienna?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we mentioned earlier, Vienna itself is an incredible wine-producing area. There are over 1,500 acres of vineyards in the city and the majority of them are white grape vineyards. Think Gr\u00fcner and Roter Veltliner, Riesling, and more. Basically, if you\u2019re going to Vienna for a vacation, don\u2019t skimp on the wine choices!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, there you have it\u2014an in-depth look at a guide to Austria\u2019s wine regions. Continue to explore wineries and styles before you visit. And of course, when you\u2019re looking for wine to drink, you can turn to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wines \u2018Til Sold Out<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Once you\u2019ve found the bottles that suit your fancy, make sure to send along some <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/gifts\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">corporate wine gifts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so that everyone can enjoy the beauty in wine that you do. Shop now!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5115 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/WTSO-Wines-Til-Sold-Out-Online-Wine-Shop-Online-Blog-A-Complete-Guide-To-Austrian-Wine.jpg\" alt=\"WTSO-Wines-Til-Sold-Out-Online-Wine-Shop-Online-Blog-A-Complete-Guide-To Austrian-Wine-Regions\" width=\"800\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/WTSO-Wines-Til-Sold-Out-Online-Wine-Shop-Online-Blog-A-Complete-Guide-To-Austrian-Wine.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/WTSO-Wines-Til-Sold-Out-Online-Wine-Shop-Online-Blog-A-Complete-Guide-To-Austrian-Wine-120x300.jpg 120w, https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/WTSO-Wines-Til-Sold-Out-Online-Wine-Shop-Online-Blog-A-Complete-Guide-To-Austrian-Wine-768x1920.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/WTSO-Wines-Til-Sold-Out-Online-Wine-Shop-Online-Blog-A-Complete-Guide-To-Austrian-Wine-410x1024.jpg 410w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we continue through our exploration of European wine countries, we can\u2019t forget about Germany and Italy\u2019s neighbor, Austria. Many people don\u2019t think of Austria when it comes to the world of wine, but in doing so, they miss out on learning some delicious history. In fact, Austrian wine has been around for quite some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":5118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[339,335,337,336],"tags":[675,674,645,402,668,30,673,83,317],"class_list":["post-5113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wine-101","category-wine-fun","category-wine-geography","category-wine-learning","tag-austria","tag-austrian-wine","tag-discount-wine","tag-geography","tag-holiday-wine","tag-wine","tag-wine-geography","tag-wine-gifts","tag-wine-learning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5113"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5113\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5116,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5113\/revisions\/5116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wtso.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}