|
|
For the first time, more than 10,000 hectares of vineyards in Austria have been certified organic. With exactly 10,432 hectares, organic viticulture now accounts for 24 per cent of the total vineyard area. In addition, 14 per cent of organic or three per cent of the total vineyard area is cultivated biodynamically. These figures were published by the Ministry of Agriculture in Vienna. This makes the organic share in Austria the largest of all major wine-growing nations.
Around a quarter of the vineyards in Austria are also certified according to the "Nachhaltig Austria" seal of quality, for which over 380 criteria are assessed, from vineyard management to the weight of the wine bottles.
The managing director of Österreich Wein Marketing (ÖWM), Chris Yorke, sees his strategy of focussing on the topic confirmed: "Austrian wine enjoys a worldwide reputation for being produced in a particularly environmentally conscious way. This not only benefits the environment, but also the winegrowers themselves, as environmentally conscious certifications are important selling points in many sales markets, for example in Scandinavia, Canada and the USA." According to Yorke, the fact that the proportion of environmentally conscious production methods is so high is also due to the structure of the domestic wine industry: "95 per cent of our wineries are family businesses. Their aim is to pass on healthy vineyards from generation to generation." The ÖWM sees great potential for the sale of Austrian wines in the positive development of environmentally conscious viticulture.
(al / source: press release)