Austria

Austrian vineyards are located entirely in the eastern half of the country, away from the Alps where the climate is continental, with colder winters and hotter summers than in most of Western Europe. Grüner Veltliner is the most widely known grape, with the hardy Swiss hybrid Müller-Thurgau coming in second. Riesling is grown only rarely, and red wines such as Spätburgunder, Portugieser, and Blaurer Zweigelt make up less than a tenth of production.

More than half of Austria’s wine comes from the large region of Niederösterreich, where the soil is rich in shale, and the Danube moderates temperature. There are eight specific wine-growing regions in Niederösterreich, stretching from the Wachau in the west to Carnuntum in the east. The other wine producing regions are Burgenland, Styria and Vienna. For historic reasons, Vienna with 1,600 vineyards alone is accorded status as its own wine region rather than part of Niederösterreich.