Austria might only represent a single percentage point of the world’s vines, but it punches well above its size with an emphasis on exports that is reaping rewards, arousing global interest in its distinctive wines, indigenous grapes, and rich culture of family winemaking that includes a high proportion of organic production.
Though domestic consumption has actually been in gentle decline, in line with international drinking trends, Austrian Wine has maintained a resolute focus on exports, which continue to grow in value: worth €248.2 million in 2023, a rise of 7%.
Austria has been working hard to grow but also manage its exports around the world into key markets
Significantly, there was a reduction in overall volume, at 65.3 million litres, due to a drop in bulk shipments in line with a strategy of premiumisation, reflected in the decision to partner with a respected international competition such as the IWSC.
Germany is its most important market, accounting for almost half of the country’s wine exports, while Austria has 10,432 hectares of organically-certified grapes, 24% of its area under vine.
The three panels were overseen by senior wine judging committee member, Dirceu Vianna Junior MW, and featured a stellar line up: with returning judges such as Waitrose buyer, Emma Penman, Friarwood's Salvatore Castano, Eric Zweibel MS and myself, joined by new faces including Luke Harbor, group beverage director at The Pig Hotels, Sainsbury’s buyer, Samantha Glanfield, Corney & Barrow associate director, Rebecca Palmer, Novel Wines managing director, Will Hill, Vincenzo Arnese, wine director at Raffles at the OWO, and Melania Battiston, wine director at Cornus.
Some of the judges get down to judging the benchmark tasting of Austrian wines
Over two days of judging the panels tasted more than 350 entries, from which an impressive 340 medals were awarded, with 13 gold medals, more than 150 silver and over 170 bronze.Arguably the most challenging of competitions - the IWSC has been described as ‘the Olympics of the wine world’ - the high number of medals awarded and the significant proportion of silvers, relative to results from elsewhere, was seized upon by Junior as a measure of the consistent quality of Austria’s wines:
“I think my overall impression is of very high standards.We know it’s a very strict competition, and a silver medal is not easy to get, and I have never seen so many silver medals.”
Golden Grüner Veltliner
The IWSC judges also had a chance to visit producers like here at Weinviertel
Austria is primarily a white wine country - 70% versus 30% for red grapes - and its calling card, Grüner Veltliner, was unsurprisingly a star performer, scooping nine gold medals and many more silver and bronze awards, with the top four examples achieving 96 points from the notoriously demanding judges.
The highest scorers included Grüner Veltliner Hutzler Wagram DAC 2021 by Weingut Stefan Bauer, Grüner Veltliner Ried Berg Reserve Traisental DAC 2022 from Weinkultur Preiss and Grüner Veltliner Ried Süssenberg Smaragd Wachau DAC 2021 by Weingut Eder Wachau.
Reflecting on the results for Austria’s signature variety, Junior praised the diversity of the wines being tasted: “It’s quite difficult to pinpoint because the variety is so versatile, from zingy and fresh, with citrus, green apple, to richer, more opulent styles … and even in soil profiles, if you take Grüner from loess, it’s perhaps more floral, more apple and white, fleshy fruit, then you have the wines from granite which have a much more assertive structure, more gastronomic … and there’s also amazing ageing potential, it’s a beautiful variety.”
Dirceu Vianna Junior MW was able to steer the judges through the wines as chairman
Though Grüner took the lion’s share of the golds, one of this year’s standout wines was made from Roter Veltliner, an unrelated variety.Roter Veltliner Fels Ried Scheiben 1 ÖTW Wagram DAC 2021 by Weingut Leth also received 96 points from the judges who described it as “uplifted and complex” with “concentrated aromas of tropical fruits, a rich palate and great texture”.
Austria’s rich diversity
Replicating 2023’s busy schedule of judging in the morning, with immersion into the host region later in the day, the team enjoyed a hugely enjoyable programme of visits for tastings and dinners, including an unforgettable boat ride on the Danube to view the famous terraces of Wachau, a tractor ride through the vineyards of Thermenregion, a vineyard walk and sparkling tasting in Kamptal, a sunset supper in Kremstal and a barbecue with the winemakers of Weinvertal.
Speaking afterwards, Glanfield said she was returning to Sainsbury’s HQ with a deeper knowledge of what Austria had to offer: “The main takeout for me has been the diversity within the regions, it was my first time here and it has been a great immersion into all of the wines that the country has to offer (and) the really distinct styles of Grüner from the different areas.”
The IWSC judging panel included importers, wine merchants, grocery buyers and leading sommeliers
For his part, Harbor said the wines he had sampled had given him inspiration for wine lists at the Pig Hotels:“I think there’s a tremendous opportunity at our hotels to show this diversity, something unique and interesting with these indigenous varieties and styles that are slightly ‘off piste’, but relatable … a lot of these wines are food-friendly, but also delicious on their own.”
Corney & Barrow’s Palmer said she was looking forward to introducing private customers to the likes of Grüner Veltliner: “It’s not just about the distinctive primary fruit profile, these are such textured wines, they have so much class and guile, so impressively subtle, using so many adjectives is usually a marker that there’s something more going on and there’s so much reason for Austria’s Grüner Veltliners to be taken seriously.”
David Kermode is a judge and ambassador for the IWSC.
To see the full results of the IWSC’s global judging in Austria click here: IWSC reveals medal results of 2024 Austrian Wine Judging | IWSC.
The IWSC will be returning to Austria for its third global judging event in Austria. This time it will be visiting the region of Styria/Steiermark.
The IWSC 2025 Wine Judging in Austria, in partnership with the Austrian Wine, will take place on May 28-31 2025.
