The Austrian wine-growing region of Bergland comprises Carinthia, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Wine is grown here on over 220 hectares. Three areas are now making a name for themselves with remarkable qualities.
Austria has three large wine-growing regions: The Weinland region comprises the federal states of Lower Austria, Burgenland and Vienna, while the Steirerland region covers the federal state of Styria. Five other federal states are combined in the Bergland region with a total of over 220 hectares of vineyards - that is around 0.5 per cent of the total Austrian vineyard area. The Bergland designation of origin only applies to the regional wines; quality wines are marketed under the name of the respective province.
Viticulture also had a long tradition in Austria's west and south until around the 17th century, when two factors in particular led to a decline in wine production: firstly, beer brewing and secondly, reduced solar activity. The grapes could no longer ripen; this phenomenon is known as the "Little Ice Age". As a result, mountain viticulture almost came to a standstill in the 19th century. But for a good 20 years now, the region has been striving upwards again and is enjoying increasing success.
Taggenbrunn is a centre of Carinthian viticulture
OEWM / WSNACarinthia is located in the south of Austria on the border with Italy and Slovenia and, with 123 hectares of vineyards, accounts for more than half of the vineyards in the Bergland region. Grapes were already being cultivated here over 1,200 years ago, as documented in a document dating back to 822. Under the primacy of the church, viticulture was widespread in large parts of Carinthia from the 11th to the 13th century; in the 16th century, there were around 400 hectares of vineyards in the east of the province alone. At the end of the 19th century, downy mildew destroyed almost all the vines in Carinthia and it took until 1972 for some pioneers to revitalise Carinthian viticulture. In 2000, the vineyard area totalled four hectares and grew more than thirty-fold in the following two decades.
The vineyards are spread across almost the entire province: from the Lavanttal valley in the east with the wine villages of Wolfsberg, St. Andrä and St. Paul via the Jauntal valley with Völkermarkt and Sittersdorf to St. Veit an der Glan, Hochosterwitz Castle and Längsee, where the largest and most extensive vineyards can be found. Further west and south, around Klagenfurt, in Glanegg and Feldkirchen, near Karnburg and on the northern shore of Lake Wörthersee as well as near Villach, in the Gailtal valley, in Kötschach-Mauthen, in the Drautal valley and in the Mölltal valley, there are also vineyards.
The main Alpine ridge protects the Carinthian vines from Atlantic and Arctic climatic influences from the north and west. Due to cold air from the mountains, the vegetation cycle in the vineyards starts late, but summers are hot and sunny due to the Mediterranean climate from the south; late summer and autumn are also usually warm and dry. Nevertheless, the amount of rainfall in Carinthia is relatively high throughout the year. The vines are mainly planted on slopes and steep slopes between 400 and 750 metres above sea level, facing south-east, south or south-west.
Carinthia produces 80 per cent white wines, primarily from Pinot varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, as well as from Sauvignon Blanc; Riesling, Muscat and Traminer are also cultivated. Zweigelt and Pinot Noir dominate among the red grape varieties, along with Merlot, Blauburger, St. Laurent, Blaufränkisch, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Fungus-resistant varieties such as Muscaris, Solaris, Souvignier Gris, Cabernet Blanc and Sauvignac as well as Roesler and Muscat Bleu also grow there.
Carinthia is Austria's third most important federal state for tourism after Tyrol and Salzburg. Wine tourism is also gaining in importance: in addition to the Lavant Valley, Central Carinthia is particularly worth a visit. Here you can visit wineries and go on excursions along the Taggenbrunn wine trail, to Längsee and to Lake Maltschach.
After its beginnings in Celtic and Roman times, viticulture in Upper Austria flourished from the 14th to the 16th century. The Little Ice Age, the advent of beer, powdery and downy mildew and phylloxera also led to a decline in the following three centuries. Wine production has been on the upswing again since the 1990s; in the past five years alone, the area under vines has grown by more than three quarters to its current level of around 100 hectares.
The Upper Austrian vineyards are located in the Danube Valley, in Machland, on Linz's Gaumberg, on the edge of the Eferding Basin, in Upper Austria's central region, in the Innviertel, in the Mühlviertel and in the south of the Salzkammergut. The vines benefit from sunny slopes and fertile plains. The soil composition is varied and ranges from heavy loam to loess loam, gravel, weathered primary rock, limestone conglomerate and weathered sandstone to light alluvial soil. The climate here is somewhat cooler and wetter than in other Austrian regions, so that fungus-resistant grape varieties are becoming increasingly important. The white wine varieties Grüner Veltliner, Chardonnay, Gelber Muskateller, Sauvignon Blanc and Donauriesling as well as the red wine varieties Muscat Bleu, Zweigelt and Blauburgunder are predominant.
Wine tourism has also awakened in Upper Austria: wineries invite you to visit and taste their wines, the wine tastes great with the local cuisine in a pub, and there is plenty to discover, from herb hikes to picnics on the riverbank during a bike tour.
Tarrenz in Tyrol is a climate island
OEWM WSNATyrol lies between the Austrian states of Vorarlberg in the west and Salzburg in the east, Germany in the north and Italy (with a small corner of Switzerland) in the south. The history of winegrowing in this cool-climate region goes back over a thousand years, as the mountainous landscape has some special climatic areas where vines can be cultivated. The prerequisites for this include sunny, south-facing vineyards that are as high up as possible with easily warmed, permeable soils.
Tyrolean viticulture was first mentioned in documents around 965, and the historic vineyard of Zirl was already known in the 14th century. However, viticulture also declined here from the 16th century. Today, the vineyards cover an area of 14 hectares, divided between the five districts of Landeck, Imst, Innsbruck-Land, Schwaz and Kufstein. The vines are mainly rooted in limestone soil and can produce grapes rich in extracts with plenty of flavour and acidity during the long growing season, which often lasts until the end of October. The main grape varieties are Zweigelt, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Müller-Thurgau, Grüner Veltliner and Chardonnay as well as half a dozen Piwi varieties.
On the Liebfrauenberg near Rankweil, Vorarlberg
OEWM / WSNAThe five hectares of vineyards in Austria's westernmost province of Vorarlberg are mainly located in the Walgau and the Rhine Valley. After the vineyards had almost completely disappeared due to the phylloxera crisis at the end of the 19th century and competition from South Tyrolean wine after the opening of the Arlberg railway line (1884), the "Vorarlberg Winegrowers' Association" was founded in 1997. Since then, Müller-Thurgau, Riesling and white Pinot varieties as well as Pinot Noir have thrived in Vorarlberg's vineyards.
The federal state of Salzburg is surrounded by Upper Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol and Germany. Vines are planted here on six ares (0.06 hectares); the first in the new era were planted in Großgmain on the Untersberg in 2001. The grapes for the "Paris Lodron Zwinger", an Frühroter Veltliner that is sold for 40 euros a bottle in aid of the Salzburg Scouts, have been growing on the Mönchsberg in the city of Salzburg since 2008. The Michaelbeuern Benedictine Abbey has also started a project involving 4,000 vines.