AUSTRIAN WINE – RISEN FROM THE ASHES

Geographically, Austria is small country with a population made even smaller by its mostly mountainous terrain, which also limits land available for the finicky Vitis vinifera to grow; hence, it is not surprising that Austria is among the smaller producers of wine among its western European peers. The landlocked nation also has a continental climate with long winters which further limits what types of Vitis vinifera varietals can thrive in the short growing seasons. Despite all of this, Austria has a long, rich viticultural history dating back to 700 BC when the Celts are thought to have introduced viticulture, which was afterward enhanced immensely by being at the crossroads of the Roman Empire’s northern expansion over the Alps from the Italian peninsula. As all readers of our other Wine Club newsletters know by now, a key component of Roman conquest was the establishment of viticulture wherever Romans could cultivate Vitis vinifera successfully. Later the Austro-Hungarian Empire further encouraged the spread of viticulture east and north in its vassal states.

Source: https://winefolly.com

All that said, we must address the late 20th century elephant in the room. In 1985, several Austrian wineries were caught using diethylene glycol (an ingredient in antifreeze) to make their wines have a sweeter, full-bodied, late-harvest style that was in vogue with the palates of consumers at the time. And not only were these Austrian producers selling these wines under their own labels, but they were exporting their tainted grape juice in bulk to German wineries to use in their wines. In fact, it was German quality control testing that identified the chemical substance in its wines, making even the regulatory aspect of the Austrian wine industry look deficient. In short, the wine industry in Austria was brought to its knees, losing credibility in the modern winemaking world just as wine consumption had begun to seriously expand on a global scale.

Yet, while circumstances certainly were incredibly grim for the remainder of the 20th century, there have been enough passionate growers and serious winemakers in Austria to bring the industry back to respectability. One notable statistic that demonstrates how much the Austrian wine industry has transformed since 1985 is that in 2023 approximately 10,432 hectares of vineyards were farmed organically, representing 24% of the total area under vine currently registered in the country’s IACS (Integrated Administration and Control System).

Austria‘s top three wine regions are also federal states: Niederösterreich (26,732 hectares), Burgenland (11,538 hectares) and Steiermark (5,109 hectares), together accounting for 43,384 of the 44,210 hectares under cultivation. There are also 17 sub winegrowing regions, including Wien (588 hectares) and the area Bergland with five wine-growing regions (Kärnten, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Tirol, Vorarlberg).

Variety in grape varietals is not a trademark of the Austrian winemaking industry. There are only 45 grape varietals recognized by the IACS, and 70 percent of vineyards are planted with the top four. The number one varietal, Gruner Veltliner, accounts for 32 percent of total hectares. Although interestingly, despite Austria being a mostly white wine producer (accounting for 70% of its total production), the second most planted varietal is the red Zweigelt.
For this month’s Wine Club, we decided to forego the obvious choice of selecting a wine from each of the three main wine regions and instead focus on three winemakers who represent the industry’s rise from the ashes of the 1985 debacle. We did, however, think it important to include three of the most popular varietals as varietal is paramount in the Austrian wine industry, and as such we selected single-varietal wines: a Gruner Veltliner, a Zweigelt, and a Riesling.Insert your text here

Source: https://www.austrianwine.com

Karl and Brigitta

Karl and Brigitta took over Karl’s parents’ farm in 1980. Although located in the largest wine-growing region, Niederösterreich, in the Kamptal appellation, winemaking was an afterthought on the Steininger estate, which was a mixed farm with a few vineyards. The good news for the couple was that this smallness precluded them from being embroiled in the mass-produced chemical catastrophe that was happening with bigger and more established players in the national market.

Karl attended a wine-growing school and Brigitta was familiar with winegrowing having grown up in a winery in Zöbing, so the couple decided to quit the farming part of the Steininger estate and concentrate on winemaking. After a few trips to Champagne, they also decided to produce sparkling wine, which they’ve been doing since 1989, building a reputation for Sekts, which are produced according to the traditional bottle fermenting method of the region.

Eva, their eldest daughter, knew as a child that she wanted to inherit the business and attended the Vino-HAK (a combination of viticulture school and commercial academy) and went on to study International Business Administration. She has managed the winery since 2021 and her husband Peter works with Karl in the vineyards and the cellar, and the two families live together at the winery with Eva’s and Peter’s sons Julian, Florian and Sebastian. Karl and Brigitta have two other daughters who are also involved in their own wine-related businesses with their respective partners.

A winemaker dynasty in the making

Eva and Peter

Monika, Andy, Patrick, and Pia.

The Weingut Strehn story is similar in that the estate began as a multipurpose farm, including various crops, livestock, and vineyards to a smaller extent. Located in the next largest wine region, Burgenland, it was established after the Second World War by Josef and Theresia Strehn. Although in the 1960s they planted more vineyards, it wasn’t until the 1980s that their daughter Monika Strehn, seeing an opportunity as the established industry players imploded in 1985, to shift Strehn’s farming operations entirely to winemaking.

In 2012, Monika’s three children – Pia, Andy, and Patrick – took over the business and jointly manage the 54 hectares of vineyards, which they farm organically and harvest, sort, and destem by hand. Early on, the siblings departed from the classic winemaking traditions of Mittelburgenland to focus on natural winemaking.

Ninety percent of Strehn’s vineyards are planted with red varietals: Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sakt Laurent, Merlot, Syrah and Pinot Noir. The other 10 percent are Riesling, Grüner Veltliner and Chardonnay.

Featured January Amaro Wine Club Austrian wine: Strehn Zweigelt Classic (2018)
VARIETALS: Zweigelt

This wine is made from Zweigelt grapes from several vineyards on the property, fermented spontaneously in stainless steel tanks where it is allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation and then aged ten months in the tanks.

FOOD PAIRINGS: charcuterie, pizza, garlicy foods, duck, grilled meats and vegetables, roast chicken

Weingut Strehn vineyards.

Matthias, wife, and children

The Hager Matthias winemaking story is that of the new generation already risen from the ashes. In 1992, seven years after the industry meltdown, at the age of 13, Matthias was experimenting with grapes on his family farm in north Kamptal in the town of Mollands. He later studied at the school of Oenology & Viticulture in Krems and worked several years in Wachau and Burgenland at large commercial wineries, and by the age of 21 he was ready to get back to experimenting and creating his own style wines. He took over the family farm and in 2000 started farming organically and embraced courses of Rudolf Steiner, the father of biodynamic farming. By 2005, he obtained organic certification as well as Demeter biodynamic certification and even become a member of the Demeter association.

Featured January Amaro Wine Club Austrian wine: Hager Matthias Kamptal Riesling Terrassen (2021)
VARIETALS: Riesling

Matthias works with the two most popular white varietals in Niederösterreich: Gruner Veltliner and Riesling. He is a firm believer that Riesling develops its best character with spare, stony soil and small harvests. For the Terrassen, the grapes are picked from different sites around Mollands from soils that are heavy with amphibolit and mica schist, from vines at least 25 years old. The grapes are hand harvested, fermented spontaneously and later undergo malolactic fermentation.

FOOD PAIRINGS: sushi, lemon chicken, shrimp and mango tacos, exotically spiced fish dishes

Biodynamic means that Matthias still works a multipurpose farm