Mittelburgenland

One of the five specific wine-growing areas in the Austrian province or generic wine-growing region of Burgenland. In 2016, a restructuring took place with partial changes in the names and area boundaries. However, Mittelburgenland was not affected by this; the name and borders remained the same. The Celts and Romans already cultivated vines here. According to legend, the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne (742-814) also visited this region. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian monks from Burgundy brought the grape varieties Blaufränkisch and Pinot Gris with them and cultivated viticulture. The hilly, forested area covers the entire central part of the province between Lower Austria in the west and Hungary in the east. Well-known wine-growing communities are Deutschkreutz, Frankenau, Kroatisch Geresdorf, Kleinwarasdorf, Horitschon, Lackenbach, Lutzmannsburg, Neckenmarkt, Nikitsch, Ritzing, Unterfrauenhaid and Unterpetersdorf. Well-known vineyards (sites) are Dürrau, Gfanger, Hochäcker, Hochberg, Kart and Kirchholz.

The three chains of hills Ödenburger Gebirge in the north, Bucklige Welt in the west and Günser Bergland in the south protect against cold winds. Warm, Pannonian climate influences flow in from the east and the nearby Lake Neusiedl has a climate-regulating effect. The predominant soil types are sand, loam and partly also gravel formations with good water retention. It is worth mentioning that in the course of a varietal study at the Federal Office of Viticulture in Eisenstadt, it was determined that the origin Mittelburgenland can be analytically determined. This is clearly possible on the basis of wine constituents, especially mineral and aromatic substances. The very high content of the health-promoting phenolic compound resveratrol was striking.

Grape variety list

Mittelburgenland is the Austrian red wine-growing region. It dominates with more than half of the Blaufränkisch, which is why it is also called "Blaufränkischland". In 2017, the vineyards covered 2,104 hectares of vines. Compared to 2009 with 2,118 hectares, this was almost identical. The share of red wine varieties is 92.4%, the share of white wine varieties 7.6%.

DAC system

Starting with the 2007 vintage, the origin-controlled quality level Mittelburgenland DAC was introduced. All other quality wines must be marketed with the origin Burgenland, the country wines under the winegrowing region designation Weinland. In addition to the generally valid DAC conditions, the following rules apply in particular: The wines must have been made from the quality wine grape variety Blaufränkisch. The indication of a Großlage is not permitted; as smaller geographical units, only a municipality and, in the second category, an obligatory vineyard can be indicated. The content of malic acid must not exceed 0.5 g/l, the content of residual sugar must not exceed 2.5 g/l. The red wine is available in three different categories:

Classic: The taste must be typical for the variety, fruity and spicy; the smell must be typical for the variety; the colour must correspond to a muted, strong red. The wine must be matured in traditional large oak barrels (no or hardly noticeable wood) or in steel tanks. The alcohol content must be 12.5 or 13% vol. Marketing must not take place before 1 March of the year following the harvest.

Site: The taste must be typical of the variety, fruity, spicy and strong. The wine must be matured in traditional large oak barrels or used barrique barrels (no to light wood). The alcohol content must be 13 or 13.5% vol. Marketing not before 1 Sept. of the year following the harvest.

Reserve: The taste must be typical of the variety, fruity, spicy and strong. Maturation must take place in traditional large oak barrels or barriques (noticeable to dominant wood tone). The alcohol content must be at least 13% vol. Marketing not before 1 January of the year following the harvest.

Producers

Well-known producers of the wine-growing region Mittelburgnland are Arachon T.FX.T, Bauer-Pöltl, Bayer Heribert, Draxler Andreas, Fuchs Christian, Gager Josef, Gesellmann Albert, Grenzlandhof Reumann, Heinrich Johann, Hofstädter Johann, Hundsdorfer Anton, Iby Anton, Iby-Lehrner, Igler Hans, Igler Josef, Kerschbaum Maria, Kerschbaum Paul, K+K Kirnbauer, Kovacs Matthias, Lang Stefan, Lehrner Paul, Moritz Alfred, Pfneisl, Prickler Herbert, Reumann Josef, Strehn Monika, Szemes, Tesch Josef, Vereinte Winzer Blaufränkischland, Weber Rudolf, Weber Thomas, Wellanschitz, Weninger Franz, Wieder Juliana, Winzerkeller Neckenmarkt and Wohlmuth Gerhard. A well-known winegrowers' association is Blaufränkischland Mittelburgenland.

Images: © ÖWM - Marcus Wiesner