Lower Austria/Niederösterreich

This wine-growing region has a total vineyard area of 15.892 hectares, divided up among 9.774 wine growers, it is one of the eight wine-growing regions in the federal state of Lower Austria in Austria. It accounts for around one third of the total vineyard area of Austria, and is by far the largest region. The Celts were involved in viticulture in this region long before the time of Christ. Grape seeds of the cultivated vitis vinifera species have been found in the commune of Stillfried, these have been dated to 900 BC. This means that this village, together with Zagersdorf in the Burgenland region, is one of the oldest wine-growing sites in Austria and in Central Europe as a whole. The typical wines of the Weinviertel are also known as “Brünnerstrassler“, referring to the fact that the old trade route from Vienna to Brno (Brünn) in the Czech Republic runs through the region. The gently rolling hills of the region are located to the north of the Danube river, the region borders on the Czech Republic in the north, and stretches from the Manhartsberg mountain (alt. 536 m) in the west to the border with Slovakia in the East. However, the Weinviertel is not a cohesive region, but consists of numerous, sometimes very small pockets of vineyards. It used to be divided into two separate and independent districts.

The easterly district of Falkenstein starts in the south, close to Vienna. The most important wine-growing communes, with their leading sites in parentheses, are: Bisamberg (Gabrissen, Jungenberg, Wiesthalen), Bockfliess, Falkenstein (Alsen, Eckartsberg, Kreuzberg, Rabenstein, Rosenberg), Enzersfeld (Sandtal), Gänserndorf, Herrnbaumgarten, Katzelsdorf, Kleinhadersdorf (Birthal, Bockgärten, Hochenleiten), Korneuburg, Langenzersdorf, Mannersdorf, Matzen, Mistelbach, Münichsthal (Seewansche Lagen), Poysbrunn, Poysdorf (Bürsting, Hermannschachern, Kirchbergen, Saurüsseln, Weiße Bergen), Schrattenberg, Stetten (Haidviertel, Hundsleiten, Mitterviertel, Neuberg, Zeiseneck), Wetzelsdorf, Wolkersdorf and Zistersdorf. The westerly district of Retz stretches from Großriedenthal in the south to Retz itself in the north. The most important wine-growing communes are: Eggenburg, Frauendorf, Haugsdorf, Hohenwarth, Hollabrunn, Kleinhaugsdorf, Limberg, Maissau, Mühlbach am Manhartsberg, Ravelsbach, Retz including Oberretzbach, Mitterretzbach and Unterretzbach (Altenberg, Klafel, Satzen, Züngel), Röschitz, Ruppersthal, Schrattenthal, Sitzendorf and Ziersdorf. The vineyards pf Mailberg Valley are a separate, third district, which forms a climatic island, this has the top-rated site Hundschupfen.

Naturally, the large area and wide spread of vineyards mean the soil types in the Weinviertel region are extremely varied, but black earth, primordial rock, loess and clay soils dominate. The climate is continental, with a minor Pannonian influence only in the extreme east. Summers are mainly hot and dry, and the winters are cold. The vineyards are located at an altitude of 200 to 250 metres above sea level. The best vineyard sites are to be found in locations that have a particularly favourable micro- and meso-climate, such as at Bisamberg, Falkenstein, Mailberg and Retz. A number of producers associations and marketing associations is active in the area, see the entry on Lower Austria for a full and detailed list.The „Weinstraße Weinviertel“ wine route was created in 2001 in order to encourage wine and cultural tourism. The route involves some 500 producers in 150 communes, located along a stretch of road some 130 kilometres long.

Among the best-known producers of the Weinviertel region are: Bauer Christoph, Bauer Norbert, Baumgartner Wolfgang, Eminger Wilhelm, Fabianek, Fidesser, Frank, Girsch, Gruber Ewald, Hahn, Haindl-Erlacher, Hirtl, Hofbauer-Schmidt, Hofer Hermann, Hofkellerei Stiftung Fürst Liechtenstein, Humer Andreas, Leberwurst, Lobner Gerhard, Maurer Leopold, Minkowitsch Josef, Minkowitsch Roland, Nebenführ, Pfaffl Roman, Pleil, Prechtl, Pröll, Rittler, Salomon Josef, Schlossweingut Bockfliess, Schlossweingut Graf Hardegg, Schlossweingut Malteser Ritterorden, Schneider Herbert, Schuckert, Schulz Werner, Schwarzböck, Setzer, Späth Benjamin, Stadler Johannes, Stopfer Franz, Studeny, Taubenschuss, Uibel, Wannemacher, Weinrieder, Winzerhof Stift, Woditschka, Zeilinger-Wagner and Zull.

White wines account for around 80% of total production. The Grüner Veltliner variety dominates, accounting for more than 50% of the area, and fort his reason the region is also sometimes referred to as „Veltliner-Land“. This variety is also used to make the first wine of controlled origin in Austria in accordance with the new quality designation DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus). At the initial pre-classification tasting, strict controls ensured 50% of the wines submitted were eliminated. The first DAC presentation of the Weinviertel took place on 17th February 2003, with some 133 producers presenting 200 wines in the museum quarter in Vienna. The new category of wines, known as Weinviertel DAC was launched onto the market by more than 500 producers on 1st March 2003. The regulations stipulate a minimum alcohol content of 12% vol, a dry style with no discernible residual sugar, no barrique notes, a psicy, peppery taste and a light yellow colour, optionally with green tinges. The wines must be sold in 750 ml bottles (or multiples thereof). Grape varieties planted (status as of 2000):
Variety Synonyms, variants Colour Hectares % share
Veltliner Grüner Veltliner, Weißgipfler White 8.544 53,8
Blauer Portugieser Portugieser Red 1.607 10,1
Welschriesling - White 1.414 8,9
Zweigelt Blauer Zweigelt, Rotburger White 975 6,1
Müller-Thurgau Rivaner, Riesling x Sylvaner White 965 6,1
Chardonnay
Pinot Blanc Feinburgunder
Weißburgunder, Klevner White 607 3,8
Riesling Rheinriesling, Weißer Riesling White 440 2,8
Blauburger - Red 431 2,7
Gemischter Satz Vineyard blend White 404 2,5
Frühroter Veltliner Frühroter, Malvasier White 267 1,7
Gemischter Satz - Red 137 0,9
Roter Veltliner - White 109 0,7
Neuburger - White 66 0,4
Pinot Noir Blauburgunder, Blauer Spätburgunder Red 48 0,3
St. Laurent - Red 45 0,3
Scheurebe Sämling 88 White 41 0,3
Cabernet Sauvignon - Red 36 0,2
Traminer Roter Traminer, Gewürztraminer White 36 0,2
Muskat-Ottonel Feinschmeckerter White 32 0,2
Merlot - Red 26 0,2
Sauvignon Blanc Muskat-Sylvaner White 24 0,2
Goldburger - White 23 0,2
Blaufränkisch Blauer Limberger, Limberger Red 22 0,1
Pinot Gris Grauburgunder, Ruländer White 17 0,1
Muskateller Gelber Muskateller, Roter Muskateller White 14 0,1
Bouvier - White 9 0,1
Silvaner Sylvaner, Grüner Sylvaner White 9 0,1
Jubiläumsrebe - White 2,7 -
Zierfandler Spätrot, Gumpoldskirchner White 1,9 -
Rotgipfler Rotreifler White 1,6 -
Cabernet Franc - Red 1,1 -
Furmint Gelber Furmint White 0,4 -
White varieties 12.619 79,4
Red varieties 3.273 20,6
TOTAL 15.892 100