Austria’s Best Wines and Winemakers - Falstaff WeinGuide 2011

Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Silvia Prieler, Weingut Prieler. The Prieler family from Schützen am Gebirge was voted "2009 vintner of the year" by Falstaff. I had lunch with Silvia Prieler in Rust.

The Falstaff WeinGuide Oesterreich/Suedtirol (Austria) 2011 was released earlier this year by Falstaff editor-in-chief Peter Moser. This posting provides an overview of the best winemakers and the best white and red wines of Austria, in the judgment of Falstaff. For rating winemakers, Falstaff uses a 1 to 5 stars scale and for rating wines the 1 to 100 points scale.

See here, for the ratings of the Falstaff WeinGuide Oesterreich (Austria) 2010.

Wine Producer Austria

Austria has about 50.000 hectares of vineyard, equivalent to about half of Germany’s total vineyard area and one fifth of France’s vineyard area. In terms of world output, Austria’s vineyard area accounts for 0.7 % of the total. Almost all of it in the east of the country. “In the west we ski, in the east we make wine”, says Willi Klinger, head of Austrian Marketing Board. About 70 % of the production is white wine and 30% red wine. About 75 percent of Austria’s production is consumed in Austria and 25 percent is exported.

Picture: The Wine Regions of Austria

Austrian wine culture is ancient; people have been producing wine in Austria for 4000 years. But everything changed in 1985, when Austria was rocked by the “antifreeze wine scandal”. Some vintners were caught illicitly sweetening their products with glycol. As a result, the market for Austrian wine, especially the semi-sweet styles then in favor, evaporated overnight. Yet the scandal initiated a revolution that has propelled Austrian wines on to the world stage. It led to a broad rethink, with an emphasis on higher-quality production and innovation that soon became noticed. Young winemakers, drawn by the new emphasis on quality over quantity, brought cutting-edge techniques and farsightedness to vineyards and cellars, revolutionizing both.

Austria’s Top Wine Makers

When visiting Austria, you will find a huge number of top wine makers, and that not only in the top wine regions, but throughout Austria. Here is the current crème de la crème, according to the Fallstaff 2011 WeinGuide.

Fünf-Sterne-Winzer – 5 star winemakers:

Weingut Bründlmayer, Langenlois, Kramptal

Weingut Gesellmann, Deutschkreutz, Burgenland

Weingut Gernot und Heike Heinrich, Gols, Burgenland

Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, Spitz an d. Donau, Wachau

Weingut Knoll, Unterloiben, Wachau

Weingut Kollwentz, Großhöflein, Neusiedlersee, Burgenland

Weinlaubenhof Kracher, Illmitz, Neusiedlersee, Burgenland

Weingut F.X. Pichler, Oberloiben, Wachau

Weingut Poeckle, Moenchhof, Burgenland

Weingut Prager, Weissenkirchen, Wachau

Weingut Tement, Berghausen, Südsteiermark

Die besten Weißweine- The Best White Wines

98: Riesling Smaragd Weissenkirchner Achleithen 2010, Weingut Rudi Pichler, Wösendorf
97-99: Riesling Smaragd Vinothekfüllung 2010, Weingut Knoll, Dürnstein
97-99: Punkte: Riesling Smaragd Unendlich 2010, Weingut F. X. Pichler, Dürnstein
97: Riesling Smaragd Singerriedel 2010, Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, Spitz/Donau
97: Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein 2010, Weingut Prager, Weißenkirchen
96-98: Riesling Smaragd Steinertal 2010, Weingut Alzinger, Dürnstein
96: Tiglat 2008 CH, Weingut Velich, Apetlon
95-97: Riesling Smaragd Bruck 2010, Weingut Josef M. Högl, Spitz/Donau
95-97: Das Beste vom Riesling Große Reserve 2010, Weingut Malat, Palt
95-97: Riesling Privat Erste ÖTW Lage, Senftenberger Pellingen 2010 Wein-Gut Nigl, Senftenberg

Die besten Rotweine – The Best Red Wines

95-97 Punkte:
- Alte Reben Neckenmarkt 2009 BF, Weingut Moric, Großhöflein
- Blaufränkisch Reihburg 2009, Weinbau Uwe Schiefer, Welgersdorf
94-96 Punkte:
- Blaufränkisch Spiegel 2009, Weingut Paul Achs, Gols
- Blaufränkisch Jungenberg 2009, Weingut Markus Altenburger, Jois
- »1015« 2009 CF/ME/CS, Weingut Feiler-Artinger, Rust
- »G« 2007 BF/SL, Weingut Gesellmann, Deutschkreutz
- Bärnreiser 2009 ZW/ME/CS/BF, Weingut Hans und Philipp Grassl, Göttlesbrunn
- Cupido 2009 BF, Weingut J. Heinrich, Deutschkreutz
- Perwolff 2009 BF, Weingut Krutzler, Deutsch Schützen
- Pinot Noir Reserve 2009, Weingut Gerhard Markowitsch, Göttlesbrunn
- Paradigma 2009 ZW/BF/ME, Weingut Claus Preisinger, Gols
- St. Laurent Zagersdorf 2009, Weingut Rosi Schuster, St. Margarethen
- Blaufränkisch Mariental 2009, Weingut Ernst Triebaumer, Rust


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