Lake Neusiedl on Austria's border with Hungary is a natural phenomenon, an attractive holiday destination and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Zweigelt thrives here for red wines full of character, as well as white grape varieties for much-praised Prädikat wines. Both specialities enjoy protection of origin.
Lake Neusiedl is a special place. Less than an hour's drive to the southeast of Vienna, it is one of the few steppe lakes in Europe and a popular holiday destination for nature lovers, sailors and cyclists. Central Europe's largest lake without an outlet also includes the wine-growing region of the same name, which is shaped by the influences of the protected body of water. Thus, large stretches of the area belong to the protected zones of the Lake Neusiedl-Seewinkel National Park, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. Here, connoisseurs in particular get their money's worth: the vineyards stretch from the foothills of the Leithagebirge in the north across the plain of the Seewinkel in the east to the Waasen moorland in the southeast. With a good 6,000 hectares, they account for almost half of the vineyard area in the province. Even though the region is known for its diversity, the first regulation on the protection of the origin of wines from 2011 referred to only one, but very multifaceted grape variety: the Blauer Zweigelt. Since then, the designation Districtus Austriae Controllatus, abbreviated DAC, has applied to Zweigelt red wines.
Vineyards on Lake Neusiedl near Andau
ÖWM / Robert HerbstThe cross between Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent grows on almost a third of the total area under cultivation and thus dominates the area on the shores of Lake Neusiedl. The landscape is characterised by the natural formation of the shallow waters and the surrounding hills. They form the terroir, which is characterised by sandy-loamy soils with chalky as well as chalk-poor gravel components. Saline subsoils can also be found here. Millions of years ago, the area was covered by the Pannonian Sea, which gradually retreated and left behind very differently shaped sediments. This geological history is still reflected today in the diverse aromas and flavour profiles of the wines made from grape varieties such as Blaufränkisch, Pinot Noir, St. Laurent as well as Welschriesling, Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay. They thrive perfectly in the unique climate, whose most important influencing factor is Lake Neusiedl itself.
The Pannonian climate zone, in the heart of which the Neusiedlersee wine-growing region is located, is characterised by hot, dry summers and mild winters with little snow. It is the sunniest region in Austria. The lake plays a significant role here, as it absorbs the heat of the day and releases it into the nearby vineyards over the night. This interplay between intense warmth and moderate coolness conjures up aromatic fruit and delicate acidity in the grapes. This results in powerful red wines of international stature, the likes of which can hardly be found elsewhere in Austria.
The region's sweet Prädikat wines also benefit from the uniqueness of this special climate. The winemakers take advantage of the long ripening period until late autumn, when the high humidity and heavy fog - especially in the vineyards between the numerous small salt pans in the Seewinkel - favour the formation of the noble fungus Botrytis cinerea. This makes the berry skins porous, so that the water evaporates and the aromatic substances and sugar concentrate in the berries. Therefore, in 2020, the protected designation of origin Neusiedlersee DAC was permitted not only for Zweigelt but also for sweet wines of the predicate levels Spätlese and Auslese from white grapes; the designation Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve applies to Beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen.
The Ungerberg vineyard is one of the best on Lake Neusiedl.
ÖWM / WSNASometimes larger, sometimes smaller, but always family-owned: more than 100 winegrowers represent the Neusiedlersee DAC area, whose boundaries encompass the district of Neusiedl am See, with the exception of the municipalities of Jois and Winden. One hundred percent of the grapes of all varieties typical of the area for the dry and sweet wines must come from this area. Declarations are made according to the following criteria:
Neusiedlersee DAC: The designation is divided into "dry" for the red grape variety Zweigelt and "fruit-sweet" for all white quality grape varieties. The dry wines with a minimum alcohol content of 12.0% vol. and a residual sugar content of no more than 4 g/l may be submitted for testing from 1 February, the fruit-sweet wines with a residual sugar content of at least 45 g/l from 1 January of the year following the harvest. The taste profile of the dry wines must be typical for the variety, fruity to spicy; the wines may be matured in wooden barrels as well as in steel tanks.
Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve: is subdivided into "dry" for the Zweigelt grape variety and "noble sweet" for all white quality grape varieties. The dry wines with a minimum alcohol content of 13.0% vol. and a residual sugar content of no more than 4 g/l may be submitted for testing from 1 February of the year following the harvest, the noble sweet wines with a residual sugar content of at least 45 g/l from 1 April of the second year following the harvest. The taste profile of the dry wines must be typical of the variety, fruity, strong to spicy. They may be aged in traditional large wooden barrels or in barriques.
The bottle labels bear the Neusiedlersee DAC designation of origin. The indication of the narrower origin "Seewinkel" for the noble sweet wines with the designation Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve is only permitted if the wines originate from the approved places Apetlon, Illmitz or Podersdorf.
But it is not only the renowned wines that make the region a popular attraction for visitors. Bordering Hungary, not far from Bratislava and Vienna, the region offers proximity to interesting (main) cities and at the same time the peace and beauty of an extraordinary landscape. The lake not only invites you to swim, but surfers, kitesurfers and sailors also love the wind on the water, which is only 1.80 metres deep at the most, and on whose shores you can relax and cycle through the vineyards. Excellent restaurants and numerous wine taverns invite you to stop for a bite to eat. The area also has a lot to offer culturally, as the lake is mainly owned by the noble Esterházy family, which maintains numerous castles and palaces in the immediate vicinity. They invite you to take an impressive journey back in time to the former Austrian monarchy. The reed belt that spans large parts of the lake is a habitat for the region's unique wildlife. The Lake Neusiedl-Seewinkel National Park is embedded in the last foothills of the Alps and the Little Hungarian Plain. If you go on a carriage ride here, you may be lucky enough to see Hungarian steppe cattle and white donkeys.