I have been attempting to write something up which describes the
different classifications of Austrian wine. I was hoping that those
of you who know this stuff could make sure I have not gone wrong
anywhere, and that those of you who don't know this stuff could tell
me if this is at all clear. The goal would be to satisfy both
parties.
I know this is kind of long, so I'm putting out a BIG thanks to anyone
who tosses in their two cents here!

e. winemonger
__________________________________

TYPES OF WINES

These categories represent the "quality designations" of Austrian
wine. They go from Tafelwein to Trockenbeerenauslese, with many in
between.

The amount of must sugar in percent of weight in a wine is measured in
units called KMW (Klosterneuburger Mostwaage) and the Austrians have
strict minimums and maximums for each category of wine. Those more
familiar with the Öchsle scale can get a close conversion by
multiplying the KMW by 5.

The basic quality designations followed in Austria are Tafelwein,
Landwein, Qualitätswein, Kabinett, and Prädikatswein (which includes
Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Trockenbeerenauslese)

TAFELWEIN is basically "table wine." It has at least 10.6° KMW.

LANDWEIN is "land wine." Usually served as the house wine. It is
classed under the general category of Tafelwein, but is required to
show its region of origin on the label. The minimum is 14° KMW.

QUALITÄTSWEIN (or "quality wine") Technically, this wine is of a
"quality" just above the table or land wine, but that doesn't mean
they can't be great. They have a minimum of 15° KMW, and the label
must go one step further than Landwein and show its specific wine
growing area. (Austria has 4 main wine growing regions, which are then
divided into 19 recognized wine growing areas.)

KÄBINETT: This goes under the broader category of Qualitätswein, but
must have a minimum of 17° KMW, a maximum alcohol by volume of 13%,
and a maximum residual sugar level of 9 g/l

PRÄDIKATSWEIN: This is the category which encompasses Spätlese,
Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, which each have their
own minimum and maximum KMW levels.

SPÄTLESE: This category has a minimum of 19° KMW, and the addition of
grape must for sweetening is not permitted (as it is in Germany.)
These wines may be sold after March 1, while the other Prädikatsweins
cannot be sold until after May 1st.

AUSLESE: The word means "selection" in German, and it's used in the
trade to describe the perfectly ripened grapes that are hand selected
and pressed separately from the other grapes. This one is a little
bit sweet, but can still be enjoyed as a "drinking" wine. Minimum of
21° KMW.

BEERENAUSLESE: "Selected berries." The grapes are left to ripen even
longer than in any previous category, and so have even more residual
sugar. Add to that some mold known as "noble rot" (botrytis cinerea),
which causes the grapes to shrivel and concentrate even more, and we
have moved into the realm of dessert wines. The minimum KMW is 25°.
You will often see this abbreviated as "BA."

EISWEIN (Ice Wine): These wines are made from grapes left on the vine
until the cold weather and frosts arrive. They must be picked at
night to insure that the temperature remains below freezing until the
grapes are harvested and pressed. In this way, the water left in the
grape is frozen, so only the most concentrated of flavors comes out.
It has a minimum 25° KMW.

SHILFWEIN: Also known as Strohwein, it is a method of making dessert
wines. The grapes are harvested late and then air dried on straw or
reed mats for at least three months to concentrate their flavor. In
the Burgenland region, the mats are made from the reeds which grow
along the edges of the Neusidler lake. Some vintners then lay these
mats out on shelves in long, long, football field length tunnels
constructed from wood and thick plastic sheeting. This both protects
the grapes from predators and acts as a kind of greenhouse. Minimum
of 25° KMW.

RUSTER AUSBRUCH: This refers to a method of making dessert wine from
grapes affected by noble rot, and can only come from around the town
of Rust. The name of the town is linked to the method of production
called ‘ausbruch", which originally came from Hungary where it is used
in the making of Tokaji. The minimum for an Ausbruch is 27° KMW.

TROCKENBEERENAUSLESE: The sweetest of the sweets, also called TBA.
These "dry selected berries" (that's what the word means) are left on
the vine until they are, you guessed it, pretty much dried out and
have gone through a big bout of noble rot. This makes them very
concentrated and results in some pretty spectacular dessert wines.
The minimum level is 30° KMW, if that gives you an indication of just
how sweet this baby is.


OTHER DRY WINE CLASSIFICATIONS:
In the Wachau region, a local association called VINEA WACHAU NOBILIS
DISTRICTUS put their wines into three different classifications:
Steinfeder, Federspiel, and Smaragd.

STEINFEDER.: The name comes from the grass which grows on the steep
hillsides here, and it is the first of the three quality
classifications for wine in the Wachau. However, you shouldn't think
that a Steinfeder is "worse" than a Federspiel: it's just different.
It's picked at a different point in the harvest and it has a different
style than the following wines. A Steinfeder is, for example, the
perfect wine for a hot summer afternoon when you just want something
simple to enjoy. Or do with it as the Austrians do: mix it with some
sparking mineral water and enjoy is as a spritzer! Perfect picnic
companion. The grapes should have a must weight between 15° to 17°
KMW, the musts are always completely fermented, and the maximum amount
of alcohol by volume is 10.7%

FEDERSPIEL: The term refers to the old local custom of calling in the
bird when hawking. Federspiel wines have a minimum must weight of 17°
KMW and a maximum of 12% alcohol by volume. They are fermented drily.
These wines are comparable to those termed "Kabinett" quality.

SMARAGD : These grapes are picked at least a week after the main
harvesting begins for that varietal and so it has more sugar (a
minimum of 18.2° KMW.) This doesn't mean it is in any way a sweet
wine, however. Following an old tradition, these wines are fermented
until fermentation comes to a natural standstill. Smaragd literally
means "emerald" and refers to the little green lizards that run around
the vineyards. Designations like Kabinett, Spatlese, and Auslese are
not used in connection with Smaragd. Smaragd wines must have longer
corks (minimum of 49mm) and cannot be released until after May 1 of
the year following the harvest.


The wines are also broken down on the following residual sugar scale:
EXTRA DRY (extra trocken) = up to 4 g/l
DRY (trocken) = up to 9 g/l
OFF-DRY (halbtrocken) = up to 12 g/l
OFF-SWEET (lieblich) = up to 45 g/l
SWEET (süss) = over 45 g/l

winemonger wrote in
om:

Good job, just small nits:


> KÄBINETT: This goes under the broader category of

It's Kabinett.

> SHILFWEIN: Also known as Strohwein, it is a method of making

It's Schilfwein.

Regards, Robert

Miss Monger,

I guess this is a damned good description of the Austrian wine types. For
validation have a look at http://www.austrian.wine.co.at/edaten/law_1.htm. I
hope it's up to date.
>
> SPÄTLESE: This category has a minimum of 19° KMW, and the addition of
You could mention that Spätlese tranlates as "late harvest". You mentioned
the translation with other classes, too.
Another insteresting point is that some winemakers don't label their wines
as "Spätlese" because they fear customers might not buy their wine believing
it is off-dry. They label it "Qualitätswein" instead. AAMOF, most
"Spätlesen" are dry.
>
> DRY (trocken) = up to 9 g/l
Trocken (Dry): up to 9 g RZ/l, if there is no more than 2 g/l difference
between sugar and acidity. Example: a wine with 8 g/l residual sugar must
have at least 6 g/l of acidity in order to be classified as dry.

HTH
Martin

(winemonger) wrote:

> [...]
> The amount of must sugar in percent of weight in a wine is
> measured in units called KMW (Klosterneuburger Mostwaage)

Degrees KMW (Austria) = Degrees Babo (Italy)

> and the Austrians have strict minimums and maximums for each
> category of wine.

No. For the better categories, leaving asinde Tafelwein and
Landwein, there is only one category that has legal maximums:
Kabinett, both for RS (9g/l) and alcohol (13%); no other category
has defined maximums.

> TAFELWEIN is basically "table wine." It has at least 10.6° KMW.

Chaptalisation (adding sugar to the must) allowed.

> LANDWEIN is "land wine." Usually served as the house wine. It
> is classed under the general category of Tafelwein, but is
> required to show its region of origin on the label. The minimum
> is 14° KMW.

Chaptalisation allowed.

> QUALITÄTSWEIN (or "quality wine") Technically, this wine is of a
> "quality" just above the table or land wine, but that doesn't
> mean they can't be great. They have a minimum of 15° KMW, and
> the label must go one step further than Landwein and show its
> specific wine growing area. (Austria has 4 main wine growing
> regions, which are then divided into 19 recognized wine growing
> areas.)

Chaptalisation allowed up to 19°KMW for whites, up to 20°KMW for
reds.

> K[A]BINETT:

From here upwords, no chaptalisation.

> PRÄDIKATSWEIN: This is the category which encompasses Spätlese,
> Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, which each have
> their own minimum and maximum KMW levels.

The category also emcomprises Eiswein, Strohwein (= Schilfwein)
and Ausbruch.

> RUSTER AUSBRUCH: This refers to a method of making dessert wine
> from grapes affected by noble rot, and can only come from around
> the town of Rust. The name of the town is linked to the method
> of production called ‘ausbruch", which originally came from
> Hungary where it is used in the making of Tokaji. The minimum
> for an Ausbruch is 27° KMW.

Two things mixed up. The legal category is "Ausbruch", and it can
be produced anywhere. "Ruster Ausbruch" comes from Rust only, but
just as Dürnsteiner Auslese has to come from Dürnstein. "Ruster
Ausbruch" is not a separate category in the wine law.

> OTHER DRY WINE CLASSIFICATIONS: In the Wachau region, a local
> association called VINEA WACHAU NOBILIS DISTRICTUS put their
> wines into three different classifications: Steinfeder,
> Federspiel, and Smaragd.
>
> STEINFEDER.: [...] The grapes should have a must weight
> between 15° to 17° KMW, the musts are always completely
> fermented, and the maximum amount of alcohol by volume is 10.7%

Slightly outdated since four or five years now. A Steinfeder has
to be unchaptalized Qualitätswein, a minimum must weight of 15°KMW
and a maximum alcohol content of 11% according to labelling
regulations (which means 11.0 can be anything between 10.5 and 11.5).

> FEDERSPIEL: have a minimum must weight of 17° KMW and a maximum
> of 12% alcohol by volume.

The alcohol has to lie within the bracket of 11.5 and 12.5% (both
included).

> SMARAGD : (a minimum of 18.2° KMW.)

This information is correct, but dates back to the times when the
lower limit of Smaragd was 12.0 percent alcohol; the conversion
tables say that with 18.2°KMW you get 11.9%vol.

But since a minimum alcohol lever of 12.5% is required for smaragd
now, the minimum sugar content in the must will be more like
19.0°KMW.

> This doesn't mean it is in any way a sweet wine, however.
> Following an old tradition, these wines are fermented until
> fermentation comes to a natural standstill.

Yes, but they have still to be "dry" according to the legal
definition (= max. 9g/l of RS). A wine with 11g/l of RS cannot be
labelled smaragd.

Note that the following scale is not a (Vinea) Wachau specific,
but part of the Austrian wine law which in this respect is the
copy of the EU wine law. Every still unfortifyed wine produced in
(or imported into) Austria has to carry one of the following
sweetness designations:

> The wines are also broken down on the following residual sugar
> scale:
>
> EXTRA DRY (extra trocken) = up to 4 g/l

Note that "extra trocken" cannot be used on export labels, so it's
seldom used.

> DRY (trocken) = up to 9 g/l
> OFF-DRY (halbtrocken) = up to 12 g/l

9 to 12.

> OFF-SWEET (lieblich) = up to 45 g/l

12 to 45.

> SWEET (süss) = over 45 g/l

HTH,

M.

You might like to check out
http://www.winesfromaustria.com/edaten/index.html

In particular, Chapter5.

Best wishes

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher