Lower Austria/Niederösterreich

The federal state of Lower Austria with its capital St. Pölten is located in the east of Austria. With an area of around 19,200 km², it is the largest federal state. It surrounds the Austrian capital Wien, borders the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the north-east, Burgenland to the south-east, Styria to the south and Upper Austria to the west.

Even before the soldiers of Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus (232-282) brought wine presses to the Danube, the indigenous people pressed the so-called Marcomanni wine. Viticulture was strongly influenced by Wien, the monastery Klosterneuburg, as well as the Benedictine-founded monasteries of Göttweig in the Kremstal and Melk in the Wachau. These were centres of spiritual and cultural life and also strongholds of exemplary wine culture. The former dinstlgut in Loiben (Wachau), whose origins date back to the 9th century, also had a great influence. The noble Liechtenstein family was founded in the 13th century. They acquired large areas of vineyards and introduced progressive viticulture methods. In 1636, a cellar regulation was issued, in which, among other things, the "Zuberaithung von Schwebl" (sulphur) was precisely regulated. The winery Hofkellerei Stiftung Fürst Liechtenstein still exists today.

Wine-growing regions of Lower Austria

There are different climatic conditions (Atlantic, continental) and soil types (gravel, sand, loess, loam and primary rock). This also results in a great variety of wines. By far the largest winegrowing area, Weinviertel covers more than half of the vineyards and is therefore divided into three large areas Falkenstein, Mailberg and Retz. Together with the two generic wine-growing areas of Burgenland and Wien, Lower Austria forms the wine-growing region Weinland, which serves as an indication of origin for country wines. The generic wine-growing region of Lower Austria is divided into eight specific wine-growing regions. For all quality wines, the generic wine-growing region of Lower Austria must appear on the label; for DAC wines, the DAC designation must also appear. The wine-growing areas with the vineyards in 2015 (in brackets the values for 2009):

• Carnuntum DAC - 907 ha (910 ha)
• Kamptal DAC - 3,907 ha (3,802 ha)
• Kremstal DAC - 2,369 ha (2,243 ha)
• Thermenregion - 2,182 ha (2,196 ha)
• Traisental DAC - 815 ha (789 ha)
• Wachau DAC - 1,345 ha (1,350 ha)
• Wagram - 2,720 ha (2,452 ha)
• Weinviertel DAC - 13,858 ha (13,356 ha)

Grape variety list

Lower Austria is a classic white wine state, accounting for about three quarters of the wine produced. The province supplies over 60% of Austria's wine production. In 2015, the vineyards covered a total of 28,146 hectares. Compared to 2009 with 27,128 hectares, this was an increase of almost 4%. The share of white wine varieties is 75.3%, the share of red wine varieties 24.7%. The clearly dominant grape variety is Grüner Veltliner with almost half of the stock:

Producers

Well-known winegrowers' associations or cooperatives are Falkensteiner Berggericht, Kamptal Klassik, Mailberg Valley, Premium Wine Estates Weinviertel, Traditional Wine Estates Austria, Vinea Wachau Nobilis Districtus, Wagramer Selektion, Wine Estates Retzer Land and Wine Estates Wagram. The wineries are listed under the respective wine-growing regions.

Map: © ÖWM