In Austria, there is such an expression: "Do not drink wine - be a fool." This drink was highly appreciated in the territory of this country. In the Middle Ages was the peak of the development of Austrian winemaking. During this period, unique recipes were developed that have survived to the present day. Thanks to a specially developed recipe, the whole bouquet of the taste of Austrian grapes is preserved.
Austrian winemaking
In this country, the art of creating wine is one of the oldest. According to archaeologists, the first mention of winemaking appeared in the Bronze Age. This is evidenced by amphorae found in Austria for wine dating back to 2700 BC.
The Romans first began to engage in viticulture in the second century BC. But even before this point, people knew all the details about the care of vineyards and built wine cellars, where the drink was kept at a certain temperature.
Charles the Great and Otto the Great made a special contribution to this area; they introduced a special process for registering viticulture. According to the established rules, passports were issued for people working in vineyards. This document was a pass to the vineyard, otherwise it was impossible to get into its territory. The era of the Middle Ages can be considered the heyday of winemaking in Austria.
Today 5700 hectares of land are occupied by vineyards. With the first rays of the sun, active work begins on them. Flowering of grapes lasts for 8-10 days. After this, the fetus is tied.
Wine in Austria is considered to be young in the period from November 11 this year to November 11 next year.
Grape varieties
In Austria, there are four main wine-making areas. The first of these is Vienna, or Vienna. This area is characterized by hilly and green suburbs. The indicated territory is unique in that the vineyards are located within the city. They are located in the western part. The main grape variety grown there is Gruner Veltliner. This representative has moderate ease. White wine is obtained with a refined bitterness.
The second most important is Burgenland. The area in question is famous for its sweet and red wines. It is especially valuable for winemakers in that it is one of the unique areas where noble mold appears on the berries. The area in question is famous for its sweet wines and dry white wines. Among the successfully growing grape varieties, winemakers note "Bouvier", "Noybur-Ger", "Rulender", "Furmint", "Shoirebe" and others. Mostly red grapes grow in this area, which have a sweet, light and mild flavor.
The third famous wine region is Niederosterreich, Lower Austria. Here, vineyards are located in various subregions. It is in this region that the famous "Grüner Veltliner" is grown - a grape variety whose berries have a peculiar rich and refined taste. The best grape variety in this Austrian territory is considered to be "Riesling", which is characterized by maturity, which gives a rich taste of wine. Zirfandler grape variety is distinguished by its sweetness and is suitable for the production of white wine.
The last region that is famous for its light acid wine is Styria - the southernmost part of Austria. Welshriesling, Gelber of the Muscateller, Müller-Thurgau, Pinot Blanc, Rülander, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay are grown on this territory. Hilly terrain and climate determine a little piquant taste with a slight sourness.
Classification of Austrian wines
The classification of wines from Austria is based on the amount of sugar in the finished grape drink. This indicator can be measured using a specially implemented unit - KMW. The abbreviation stands for Klosterneuburg wort weight table. 1 KMW - 1 gram of sugar per 100 grams of grape must, which is approximately 5 ° Escl.
Table wines:
- Landwein - min. 14 ° KMW;
- Tafelwein - min. 13 ° KMW.
Quality wines:
- Kabinettwein - min. 17 ° KMW;
- Qualitatswein - min. 15 ° KMW.
High-quality wines (each of them has its own distinctive feature):
- Ausbruch - min. 27 ° KMW - an overripe berry is needed, naturally ripened and affected by noble mold.
- Auslese - min. 21 ° KMW - grapes are selected by quality manually, because only ripe berries are needed.
- Beerenauslese - min. 25 ° KMW - late ripe berries, sometimes affected by noble mold, must be used.
- Spatlese - min. 19 ° KMW - suitable exclusively for full-ripe grapes.
- Trockenbeerenauslese (Trokenberenauleslese) - min. 30 ° KMW - ripe berries are selected, subsequently naturally razumyuzhennye and struck by noble mold.
Gruner Veltliner
This grape variety is considered one of the most popular in Austria and grows exclusively in this area. Berries of this variety ripen later than others. From this white grape wine is obtained with a bright fruity aroma of pear, grapefruit, lime. Due to the fact that the variety in question has a high acidity, over time the taste acquires a unique sophistication.
Wine Grüner Veltliner has two distinct taste features. The first is the freshness and light notes of citrus. The second is the severity, richness of taste, which is achieved through prolonged exposure of the drink in the wine cellar. At the time of maturity of a wine of this variety, you can notice honey and marmalade flavors and a deep golden color.
Unique ice wine
One of Austria's calling cards is Icewine, a wine made from berries beaten by frost. As a rule, these are sweet dessert wines. When collecting and squeezing juice, a temperature of -7 ° C should be maintained.
Cold is a key ingredient in the production of this wine from Austria. The water contained in the juice freezes, but the acids and sugar do not.
The peculiarity of Icewine is that the grapes freeze naturally. While in countries with a warm climate, winemakers freeze berries artificially. In this case, the final product will clearly differ from the wine made according to the classic recipe.
Such a drink has a rather high price, because for the production of 350 ml of wine you will need 15 kg of frozen grapes. For the preparation of this type of alcoholic drink, the varieties "Riesling" or "Vidal Blanc" are used.
State control
In order to control the wine produced, certain packing rules were established in Austria. On the red-white lid (according to the colors of the flag) they put the state control number, which means that the drink was bottled in this country and meets the quality standards.
Austrian products go through two stages of control. At the first, the chemical composition of the drink is checked. At the second stage, wine from Austria receives the assessment of a professional tasting commission. Regional representatives also pass confirmation of regional typicality.
Wine DAG - what is it?
The abbreviation indicated completely sounds like Districtus Austriae Controllatus. It was created in order to control the production of local regional wines. If after the name of the wine and the region you see DAG, this means that it is a representative of the wine region of Austria.
In theory, every Austrian winemaker can produce fine wines from 35 declared high-quality grape varieties. But in practice, they only grow varieties that produce high yields in their vineyards. Before you start growing a particular variety, you must consider marketing factors, in addition to winemaking factors. Each wine region is famous for its variety, which, thanks to climatic conditions, reveals the whole bouquet of taste and aroma.
Wine Rules
To feel all the flavoring shades, you need to be able to drink grape alcoholic drink correctly. There are several rules for this:
- Hold the glass of wine by the index finger and thumb, and not by the cup itself. This is because the heat from the palms can increase the temperature of the drink.
- Before drinking, it is recommended to twist the glass in your hand so that the wine touches the walls as much as possible. Observe the shade of the drink as oily drops drip down the side of the glass.
- After you have evaluated the drink visually, slowly and slowly smell the contents of the glass. Try to catch all the shades of aroma. Then take a sip, inhale, and then swallow the drink.
- Wine does not always open its entire flavor palette in its purest form. Sometimes you should dilute the drink with mineral water. In this case, mix the wine with water in a ratio of three to one.
Customer reviews
If we talk about the opinions of ordinary people, then they differ. But, despite this, there are varieties of wines that are equally popular. Gruner Veltliner, Weissburgurden and Riesling wines became such standard classics. All of these drinks belong to dry white wines or, as they are also called, Trocken. But sometimes they do not have time to ferment completely. Then you can feel a sweet taste and see light bubbles in the glass. If you believe the reviews about wines from Austria, then for lovers of white sweet, "Ice wine" is suitable - called ice wine. But it should be recalled that the sugar in this drink is natural, since it is made from frozen berries, practically raisins.