Neusiedlersee – The Most Versatile Wine Region of Austria

I am not saying that it is the only place in the world, but probably one of the few where you really need to look into the geographical effect of the place to fully understand its wines. I have learned about and visited many regions, but this one is uniquely fascinating! Neusiedlersee is a wine region that is not only almost impossible to pronounce but also impossible to miss if you are looking for great wines.

These could be fruity, light whites, elegant red wines, or beautifully fresh, luscious sweet wines of very high quality. Here, you can find them all! Fortunately, a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to attend a great masterclass about this region at VieVinum. Here, I could explore the area in depth through an amazing lineup of wines. I would like to share what I have experienced and hopefully encourage you to do the same by tasting more wines from Neusiedlersee or, in my case, planning a visit to see it for myself!

Where Are We?

Let’s start at the beginning by looking at the map. Neusiedlersee is the biggest sub-region of Burgenland, right at the border of Hungary. So close that, in fact, a part of the lake actually belongs to Hungary. Yes, “See” means lake in German. Yes, we are still talking about an Austrian region, and yes, it is very difficult to pronounce and even read all these e’s together… but it is what it is.

So, how big or even significant is the place we are talking about? Burgenland is the second biggest wine region in Austria with 11,772 hectares, and Neusiedlersee has 6,110 hectares of this area. More than half of Burgenland is actually Neusiedlersee. There are slightly more white grapes planted than red varieties (51:49), but when it comes to wine production, the latter gets the majority. Forty-nine percent is dedicated to red wine production, mostly Zweigelt. We will get there. Forty-two percent is dry white production. For me, it was a surprise that only nine percent of the production is sweet wines. Beforehand, I came across the region as a sweet wine-producing one rather than a dry wine region, so for the sake of it, we will cover the “why” on this too. But I promised geography at the beginning, so here it is.

The Lake

Neusiedlersee is not your ordinary lake. As you might have figured, the whole wine region got its name from the lake, showing its significance. It is Europe’s largest steppe lake, belonging to the Eurasian Steppe from Europe to China. A lake that changes its water level quickly and often, so much so that it dried out in 1864-1870. In the past, there were projects to achieve this permanently and use the area for agriculture, but fortunately, they were all unsuccessful.

The most unique feature here may be that the water has a great amount of minerality and salt concentration (about one-twentieth of seawater). Hence it is not freshwater. Europe’s largest mineral water deposit is situated just below the lake. It can reach a salinity of water as high as 37 grams per liter. These facts play a crucial role in the terroir, the growth of the vines, and even the taste of the wines. Its unique position at the foot of the Alps and not far from the Carpathians makes the area one of the windiest in the country with almost the sunniest places as well, with 2,000 hours of sunshine annually.

What Do All of These Mean for the Wines?

A long and dry ripening season, a wind that can transfer “saltiness” to the wines. The perfect area for noble rot to find its way onto the grape skin in autumn mornings and be dried out by the afternoon to create those beautiful, sweet wines. The wind creates a somewhat cooler microclimate here, where Zweigelt found its second home and starts to show wines that are getting better and better by the minute. That translates to elegant, crisp, and saline white wines as well, mainly from international varieties. We can find here Chardonnay and the white Pinot grapes, along with Welschriesling and Grüner Veltliner, of course.

This place is unique from bottom to top, with its biodiversity under the soil and amazing landscape above it. Since 2001, this area has been declared a landscape of “outstanding universal value” and is now a UNESCO World Heritage region.

The Law

As I have mentioned, there were serious efforts to dry the lake out, and fortunately, it was all for nothing as, in the last couple of decades, the wine production area and craftsmanship started to flourish. With that, the region’s appellation system was introduced to increase quality production as well. In 2012, the Neusiedlersee DAC was established for Zweigelt, and eight years later, the same status was granted for white, fruity sweet wines as well as for nobly sweet wines. This is what we can find on the labels and what it means:

• Neusiedlersee DAC Zweigelt: Only 100% varietal; all grapes must come from the wine-growing region. A fruit-forward wine with some spiciness, matured in stainless steel or large wooden casks, and only for dry wines.
• Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve Zweigelt: Only 100% varietal; all grapes must come from the wine-growing region. A more complex and spicier wine but still fruit-driven, matured in small or big wooden barrels, which can be new or used. It can be a single vineyard wine but only dry.
• Neusiedlersee DAC Spätlese/Auslese: Only white quality grape varieties; all grapes must come from the wine-growing region. The local origin “Seewinkel” can appear on the label; only sweet wines.
• Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve Beerenauslese/Trockenbeerenauslese (TA/TBA): Only white quality grape varieties; all grapes must come from the wine-growing region. The local origin “Seewinkel” can appear on the label; only sweet wines.

Wine Styles

From here, you can see that the main focus is really on the Zweigelt (occasionally some Blaufränkisch and Sankt Laurent) and the sweet wines of quality, or as they say, Prädikatswein. I have already written about those grapes and the Prädikatswein system, but to really make this article complete, I will share the system and Zweigelt again, finishing with some notes on the wines tasted at the masterclass.

Zweigelt

It is also known as Rotburger, Zweigeltrebe, and Blauer Zweigelt, and it is widely planted in Austria on over 6,230 hectares (that’s 13.9% of all the country’s plantings!). It ripens in the mid-season and, as the most widespread red wine variety in Austria, grows in favorable sites in all the country’s wine regions. The wine spectrum ranges from young-drinking, non-wood-matured versions to strong, firm wines from the barrique. The variety is also often used as a partner for cuvée wines. They say the most attractive expressions are from the Carnuntum and Neusiedlersee areas. The variety brings slightly violet-reddish colored wines with soft tannins. High-quality wines are produced both in stainless steel and in barrique. It was created in 1922 by Fritz Zweigelt by crossing Blaufränkisch with St. Laurent.

The Sweet Wines

Prädikatswein is the top tier of Austrian wine quality classification. The term Prädikat means ‘distinction’. Austria’s wine classification is strongly based around grape ripeness (must weight). This is graded on the KMW Klosterneuburg Must Weight scale. One KMW means 1g of sugar per 100g of grape must. There are seven types of Prädikat wines:

• Spätlese: means ‘late harvest’. Spätlese wines are made from grapes picked at least a week after the start of harvest and must have a minimum of 19 KMW.
• Auslese: means ‘selected harvest’. Auslese wines are made from ripe grapes (min. 21 KMW) with some noble rotter grapes.
• Beerenauslese (BA): means ‘berry selection’. Super-ripe grapes (min. 25 KMW) remain on the vine and are ‘selected’ only if affected by botrytis.
• Ausbruch: denotes a wine made exclusively from botrytis-affected berries.
• Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA): means ‘dry berry selection’. The sweetest of all, the grapes are left on the vine until they reach a botrytized and raisin-like state, with highly concentrated sugars (30 KMW), giving them more concentration and complexity.
• Eiswein: means ‘ice wine’ and indicates that the grapes (min. 25 KMW) were harvested and pressed while naturally frozen. Obviously, this is the one they harvest last, only when the temperature is right (usually -7°C).
• Strohwein/Schilfwein: literally ‘straw wine’ and ‘reed wine’. The grapes (min. 25 KMW) are air-dried, traditionally on mats made of straw or reeds, to concentrate their flavors and sugars.

From this list, Ausbruch belongs to another appellation, the Ruster Ausbruch DAC, which actually can be found on the other side of the lake near the village of Rust. Geographically, it is closer to Leithaberg, another sub-region of Burgenland, so they count this area with it; however, we are at the shore of the lake as well!

The Wines

We tasted a total of 14 wines that were hand-selected by Paula Redes Sidore from Trink Magazine to showcase the different styles of Zweigelt and had just one flight of the sweet wines.

Flight 1: The Diversity of Zweigelt without Using the DAC System

• Hannes Reeh – Reehbellion Zweigelt NV: A sparkling red wine with super fruity notes and a light body, good acidity with balanced alcohol, a fun bubble for everyday drinking.
• Gebrüder Nittnaus – Rosé Zweigelt 2023: An elegant rosé with strawberry, raspberry, and lots of floral notes. The palate continues with a fruity and juicy style, a slight oily texture that adds complexity, and a lovely long finish.
• Markus Iro – Spielerei 2023: The name suggests a playful wine that doesn’t disappoint, with lots of dark berry fruits next to the spices, a light body on the palate with more fruity flavors, very low tannins, and a long finish.

Flight 2: The Potential of Neusiedlersee DAC Zweigelt

• Bio-Weingut Ettl – Zweigelt 2022: As required for this DAC, a fruit-forward wine with just a touch of spices and a medium tannin structure with balanced alcohol and freshness.
• Hannes Reeh – Zweigelt 2022: More complexity and body than the previous wine with a more spicy dominance. Tannins go for a medium-plus mouthfeel with a long lingering finish.
• Artisan Wines – Zweigelt DAC 2013: It was amazing to see the development of these Zweigelt wines. Yes, they can age gracefully. This wine showed some tertiary character but was still very much alive with good freshness and subtle smooth tannins.

Flight 3: Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve Zweigelts from Single Vineyards

• Nestor – Ried Kaiserberg 2021: Great complexity and obviously a premium quality, still very young, needs time to soften, with prominent alcohol and a long spicy finish.
• Münzenrieder – Ried Römerstein 2021: A very complex, intense, and full-bodied wine with high tannins. It needs even more time to soften and be ready to drink.
• Weingut Kummer – Ried Zeiselberg 2019: Very different spicy character with saline aromas, well-integrated oak spices, and ripe tannins, a well-balanced wine.

Flight 4: “All for One, One for All” Project

• This flight presented a project from three different wineries. They made one barrel of wine in the exact same way for a Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve Zweigelt style from the 2021 vintage. The project name is “All for One, One for All,” where the grapes come from one single vineyard with various soil types and proximity to the lake to show the different microclimates of the region.
  • The first wine was made by Andi Kroiss from Ried Neufeld, which has very sandy soil. This vineyard was the closest to the lake.
  • The second wine came from Ried Seeweingarten by Markus Lentsch, further from the lake, where there is more gravel than sand in the soil.
  • The last wine was from Ried Kaiserberg by Andreas Unger, a vineyard situated more on the Wagram hill, the farthest from the lake. Here, the topsoil has more mineral-rich black earth on top of the sandy loam sub-soil.
• The wines became more complex and spicy, with increasing tannins as we went further from the lake because the vineyards were further from the lake’s cooling effect! It was super interesting to see these differences in the glass, all because of the microclimate.

Flight 5: The Greatest Sweet Wines from the Region

• Gebrüder Nittnaus – Scheurebe Beerenauslese 2020 Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve: In the blend, there are 90% botrytized grapes from a very low yield. The sugar content here is 169 g/l. A superbly well-balanced wine where the sweetness is not overwhelming, a super fruity wine with lots of honey and honeysuckle.
• Angerhof Tschida – Welschriesling Trockenbeerenauslese Ried Domkapitel 2021 Neusiedlersee DAC Reserve: A lovely creamy palate on this wine with amazing freshness and saline notes coming through in the never-ending aftertaste.

Conclusion

Now, you have read it with your own eyes. Neusiedlersee is truly a versatile and unique little region in the heart of Europe. There is no other region you can compare these wines and their birthplace to. I am amazed by the quality of these red wines, as I was already familiar with the sweet styles. This is the perfect region to visit, especially with a bike. There is a road dedicated to riding and seeing the beautiful landscape and passing by the villages and winery’s cellar doors to taste those amazing wines. I know I won’t wait until next year and am already planning to come back to report on my personal visits and tastings of these wines again, alongside those that are still unknown to me! Will you join?

Photos by Austrian Wine & WinEncsy

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