Austria – wine laws

Austrian wine laws are strongly influenced by those of neighbouring Germany. Austria follows the Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC) appellation system, introduced in 2003. It is similar to the AOC classification in France and classified as a PDO under European law. DAC wine laws impose certain constraints covering permitted grape varieties, alcohol levels and oak ageing regimes to ensure that wines bearing a DAC title represent an authentic example of the regional style. It is a move away from German laws which classifies wine based on sugar and a move to producing wines that can be identified as typical of their region. The country does, however, still operate a wine quality classification system is based on must weight (sugar content) of the grapes, measured on the Klosterneuburger Mostwaage scale (KMW). There are three quality levels: Tafelwein, Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein. The labelling terminology is also similar to Germany’s, although the required must weights tend to be higher.

Spätlese (>19°KMW) wine not released until 1 March after harvest

Auslese (>21°KMW) Harvested grapes should have bad grapes removed

Beerenauslese (>25°KMW) Harvested grapes should have bad grapes removed

Ausbruch (>27°KMW) botrytised grapes, late harvest wine may be added to assist pressing

Trockenbeerenauslese (>30°KMW) completely botrytis infected grapes

Eiswein (>25°KMW) further concentrated by being harvested and pressed when frozen (-8°C)

Strohwein or Schilfwein (>25°KMW) made from grapes dried on straw mats

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