A Guide To The Wine Region of Wachau In Austria
Welcome to this post about the region of Wachau. Wachau is one of the most prestigious wine producing regions in Austria and maybe even Europe. That says quite a lot about what you can expect from here. We will do this just like we did with the runthrough of Germany’s wine regions.
We will go over region by region and cover the history, the style of wine, climate and geography and some places to look for. I will also include a short segment about the statistics of grape varieties here. This is the first region out so sit back and enjoy some knowledge bombs.
History of The Region
There has been evidence uncovered that suggests that the region had a form of viticulture even before the Romans had their great expansion. The evidence shows that cultivation started by the celtic tribes introducing it.
The most notable was the La Tene and the Noricum federations. When the Romans came to rule these places the viticulture started to flourish as the market broadband and it was encouraged by the emperors. Even though grape growing was officially banned north of the alps it still occurred. But in the 3th century this ban was lifted. It was the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus that made this change happen and followed it up by introducing several new grape varieties to the regions in Austria, Wachau included.
People have speculated that both Welschriesling and Austrias signature grape Gruner-Veltliner was cultivated here by the Romans. The first written account of evidence showing wine plantings here was in the 5th century near a Romans established town called Mautern.
Like most people know, the Romans empire collapsed and the lands it had once owned were savagely attacked by barbarians and tribes. It took a real toll on Austrias viticulture, but it prevailed like most regions during this time. Although it did take several centuries as the region went into a dark age and grapes didn’t see the light until Charlemagne made it happen. Even though the empire collapsed, the religion did not come crumbling down as easily.
The church made sure that the wine production continued and sustained even through tough times. In the 20th century Austria and most notably Wachau became more recognised for the amazing quality of the Riesling and Gruner-Veltliner grown here. A scandal came forth though that was detrimental to the country. It was discovered that many Austrian wineries had added toxic substances to the wines to make them appear more sweeter and full bodied, making them fetch higher prices.
The response from the wine industry was that there was to be a lot more stricter rules when it came to making wine. They are still rebuilding their reputation around the world.
The Wachau Style of Winemaking
In the region of Wachau the most widely planted grape variety is Gruner Veltliner, much like it is the most planted in the country. It is like we discussed above the most important grape to Austria and makes for some truly outstanding expressions of terroir and quality.
Wachau has also made a name for itself for the world class Riesling bottles that can be found here. There has also been a slight increase in the planting of Chardonnay here, but in Austria it is more known as Feinburgunder. Sauvignon Blanc can also be a hidden gem to discover here. The relatively cold climate makes for some really crisp and green expression with the grape.
In Wachau, Riesling is generally planted on the best sites to give it the best potential. But that is not something that indicates that Gruner-Veltliner is taking a backseat in importance. No, Gruner-Veltliner just thrives better on the lower banks where the soil consists of loess and sand. ‘
Throughout Wachau, the wines very rarely see any type of oak or malolactic fermentation. The wines are full bodied and almost like a concentrated flavour extract in the style, making it more similar to Alsace wines then the German counterparts.
I especially appreciated wine from here for the minerality and great fruitiness they get. The old traditions of making wines shows in that they have great complexity and depth, making it fun to discover and explore throughout the course of opening a bottle.
Climate And Geography
The boundary in which the Wachau resides has traditionally been the valley of Danube between the village of Melk and Krems. Along with the bordering regions of Kremstal and Kamptal, Wachau is one of the coolest regions in the country.
The climate is tempered by the cool winds coming from the Waldviertel forest and warmer winds from the Pannonian Plain. The result is a climate considered to be continental. It is also signified by the drops of temperature that is experienced during nighttime. The warm air circulation during the day makes the grapes develop sugars and phenolic compounds and during the cold night the grapes are able to preserve the acidity and aromas.
It is common that during the growing season when rain is starting to be more and more scarce, that irrigation has to be implemented. The soil is mostly of rock outcrops with some layers of loess. The landscape is primarily made up of steep and rocky river banks, some even being as steep as the ones found in Mosel. The higher up you get in the hills, where Riesling is more cultivated, the soil is instead more of iron, slate and gravel.
Recommendations And Statistics
Now which places do I like to look for when buying wine from the Wachau region. Well first and foremost I have to say my favourite producer is Domäne Wachau. They make some amazing expressions of both Riesling and Gruner-Veltliner. The last mentioned being my favourite. They have quite a big array of different styles and prices on the wines.
But the most prestigious has to be the ones made with Gruner-Veltliner. I tend to favour them much because of the ageability of the bottles. I have tasted some aged Gruner and I have to say they are just mind bogglingly good. The flavour consists of fresh apple and a great minerality but so much depth of blooming flowers and white peach.
For the quality you are getting I think the prices are more than fair. For red wine I don’t really care about them that much when it comes to Wachau, I think the cooler climate just makes it too difficult to find a really good wine. But maybe from the top producers, often using Pinot Noir the wines can be elegant and quite ageworthy.
Now or some stats about what the grape diversity looks like here. Quite a boring result as Riesling and Gruner-Veltiner just flat out dominate here.
- Riesling, 47 %
- Gruner-Veltliner, 46 %
- Muscat Blanc, 1 %
- Pinot Blanc, 1 %
- Zweigelt, 1 %
Last Words
That’s a wrap for this post about the region of Wachau. My favourite in Austria. Home to my most prized bottles of Gruner-Veltliner. In the next post we will go over the neighboring region of Kremstal. Stay tuned for that one!
