Austrian Wine Report & Buyer’s Guide December 2025: New Eco Milestones & Smart Buys
Austria: A world Leader in Organic Viticulture, and Fine Wine?
By John Szabo, MS
This feature was commissioned by Austrian Wine Marketing Board.
Some years ago, as the awareness of anthropogenic messing with the planet was gaining momentum, it became clear to me that eco-reckless farming and packaging cannot fine wine make. Wine is an agricultural product, but it is not an essential product. Essential products, mostly food in this case, can arguably get a bit of a pass. But non-essential products must be held to higher standards, otherwise they shouldn’t exist. So, no matter how objectively tasty a wine is, if it is produced from vineyards doused in biodiversity-killing pesticides and packaged in a ludicrously carbon-heavy bottle, it is not fine.
Cover crops and red poppies blooming in a vineyard. ©Austrian Wine/www.pov.at
This makes Austria a statistically smart choice for consumers into green investing (and drinking).
When I first started exploring Austrian wines around the year 2000, the share of organic vineyards was only 1.7%. So, reaching the milestone of 25% of surface area certified as organically cultivated, a total of 10,524 hectares, in such a relatively short time is no mean feat. And this figure doesn’t include the other environmental certification programmes common in the Austrian wine industry.
More than one in 10 organic vineyards, for example, are also cultivated using biodynamic methods (14% of the organic area under vine). Demeter and respekt-BIODYN are the associations that provide biodynamic growing guidelines and an organic certification is a requirement for membership. Austria is also home to BIO AUSTRIA, the largest organic farmers’ association in Europe, “with stricter standards for organic viticulture than those contained within EU regulations”, according to Austrian Wine. And another 27% of the area under vine is under the “Sustainable Austria” (“Nachhaltig Austria”) certification, a comprehensive, science-based programme for which 380 operational measures are evaluated, from cultivation methods to the weight of bottles.
WIne Austria CEO Chris Yorke with John Szabo MS in Toronto, October 2025
“A quarter of all viticulture being organic is an incredible achievement,” Chris Yorke, CEO of Austrian Wine Marketing (Austrian Wine), told me on a recent trip to Toronto. “We must not forget that we have to cope with more difficult climatic conditions in Austria, compared to other, bigger wine-producing countries. That does not make organic viticulture any easier — in fact, quite the opposite. But our winemakers are convinced that environmentally conscious viticulture is the right way to go in the future — and they are still going this way, despite the difficult times we are facing right now.”
Göttweig, Kremstal, Niederösterreich. ©Austrian Wine/WSNA
Austria is indeed not a particularly easy place to farm organically. It’s not like, say, Provence, or the Central Valley in Chile, where a benevolent climate almost makes for de facto organic farming — I mean, why would you spray chemicals if you don’t have to?
The climate in Austria is generally much more challenging. High temperatures are often coupled with high humidity, which multiplies mildew pressure. And farming costs are already high given often small, steep parcels where tractors are not advised, and the regular and constant threat of yield-reducing spring frosts, summer hailstorms and other extreme but increasingly frequent weather events. Organic cultivation adds to those costs, making it a weighty business decision.
Ried Heiligenstein, im Hintergrund Zöbing, Kamptal, Niederösterreich. ©Austrian Wine/WSNA
On the other hand, the structural reality of the Austrian wine industry is favorable to earth-friendly farming. No fewer than 95% of Austria’s wineries are family-run, with an average of around 4 hectares of vineyards. This is not industrial scale. Wineries that have been passed down through many generations and remain in family hands, and are not beholden to quarterly shareholder returns, tend to use natural resources responsibly and sustainably. The next generation depends on it.
Then there’s also the physical structure. Many of Austria’s vineyards are on steep slopes or narrow terraces, where the only option is to work by hand. It’s one thing to jump into your closed-cab, air-conditioned tractor and spray chemicals from a protected place. It’s another altogether to strap on a pack back that sprays inches away from you. Few would opt to use the nasty strong stuff.
Ried Vogelberg, Wachau, Niederösterreich. ©Austrian Wine/Robert Herbst
There’s also outside pressure to move in this direction, particularly from Canada and Scandinavia. As Yorke explains, “Environmentally conscious viticulture — whether organic, biodynamic or sustainable — also opens up new business opportunities because these wines are in high demand among certain customer groups and in export markets such as Scandinavia and Canada. As our winemakers are known internationally for their particularly environmentally conscious production practices, the demand for Austrian wines has been increasing in these markets for many years now — and there is still considerable potential.”
(Here, I think, we have Québec in particular to thank for the increase in Austrian wine imports into Canada, where the sommelier community is especially dogmatic about organic, low intervention wines.)
And The Wines
The argument that organic/biodynamic farming makes better wine (notions of “fine” aside), is more difficult to make, but I firmly believe it does. And I can offer several examples of where delicious and fine line up.
The one wine on which the WineAlign Crü could all agree was the Hiedler Grüner Veltliner Ried Schenkenbichl 1ÖTW ($61.00) from the Kamptal. This small, family-run operation, established in 1856, is a leader not only in organic farming but also regenerative agriculture, the new gold standard that puts more in than is taken out.
Schenkenbichl 1ÖTW. (photo credit: Weszeli)
The are two vintages of the exceptionally stony, volcanic-metamorphic rock Erst Lage (1st growth) Schenkenbichl on shelves now: 2022 and 2023. Michael plumped for the 2022 for its “extraordinary waves of grüner veltliner gifts,” while Megha, Sara and I recommend the 2023 by slender shoot. “A wine of impeccable balance,” says Megha. “I would splurge on a bottle and tuck it away in my cellar for another couple of years.” “A perk of insistent, mineral-driven tension on the palate is balanced by oily charm, says Sara. “I’m sold.” I found it shade more clarity and precision than the 2022, but both are excellent and, side-by-side, would make for a fine vintage comparison.
Other wines with notable alignment include Stadt Krems Ried Steiner Grillenparz 1ötw Riesling 2019, Kremstal ($38.00), for which Sara promises that, “if you came in with high expectations befitting its Erste Lage (1st growth) pedigree, rest assured, you won’t be disappointed.” Two vintages of the Grillenparz are also on shelves now, but quadruple alignment was reserved for the 2019, a vintage that is living up to the hype and the “legend of the niner” (the last few vintages ending in nine have been uniformly excellent). “Tasted beside the powerful 2020 vintage of the same wine, this is more delicate, calm and complete,” says David. “Crunchy and obviously stony,” says Micheal, noting that it’s approaching peak drinking.
Underlining the fact that larger cooperatives can play the fine wine, and fine value, game, three of us recommend the Winzer Krems Kremser Kreuzberg Reserve Riesling 2022, DAC Kremstal ($25.25). The members of this 80-year-old cooperative do not all farm organically (yet), but, according to their website? “Winzer Krems’ clear goal is to continuously increase the proportion of organically cultivated land.” And the entire production has been certified “Sustainable Austria” since the 2022 harvest. Megha loved the perfume — “tropical and citrusy, delicately floral, with an elusive hint of spice” — while David praised its impeccable balance, completeness and the abundance of “all kinds of fruit on the palate.”
Gerhard Wohlmuth in the Edelschuh Vineyard. ©John Szabo MS
And if you are thinking that Austrian whites end at grüner and riesling, Sara and I found much to admire in the Wohlmuth Sauvignon Blanc 2022 from Südsteiermark
($27.15), a region specializing in this variety since the mid-19th century. For me, it’s more Steiermark than sauvignon in style, and especially the high elevation, schists of Kitzeck-Sauzal where Wohlmuth has his spectacularly steep vineyards. I love the stony-saltiness on offer. Sara appreciated its elegance, and “savory depth and pervasive minerality, ending on an upbeat tempo.”
My pick for value in a strong field goes to Weszeli’s Felix Grüner Veltliner 2023,
($20.95). It’s the entry into the portfolio of this organic/biodynamic producer (this wine is not certified biodynamic, but is certified organic), and it offers everything I hope for in a grüner at this price. But there are seven recommended wines under $26, so plenty of options to choose from.
Vintage Reports: 2024
2024 will be remembered as a vintage to forget, not in terms of quality, but rather yields, which were down significantly over the average. The causes were tri-fold: An early hot spring led to early budding, putting vines at risk of frost, which duly arrived towards the end of April and caused notable losses. Late May-early June saw heavy rain arrive across Lower Austria (Neiderösterreich), coinciding with the sensitive period of flowering and triggering coulure, or berry shatter, when grape clusters develop poorly due to the failure of flowers to pollinate or the shedding of tiny, newly formed berries, further reducing yields.
The last hopes of some vintners were then dashed by localised hailstorms just before harvest, notably on the famous Nussberg Hill in Vienna. And pretty much every region north of the Danube experienced heavy, harvest-time rainstorms that lasted in some parts up to four days, bringing an unprecedented amount of rain and catastrophic flooding.
The good news was that between the early and late season rains, lower Austria enjoyed a hot, very dry summer, which, coupled with the reduced crop, allowed berries to reach a high degree of maturity, with high sugars and moderate acids. Bunches were sparse and small berries developed thick skins, resulting in forward, discreetly aromatic, round and generous wines. South of the Danube most growers had already harvested before the rains arrived, though even those who harvested after the rain report healthy, quality grapes, nevertheless.
From our tastings so far, the 2024s are indeed plump and fleshy, with moderate acids, and should provide lots of pleasure early on. Reds, which I have not yet tasted, are expected to be excellent, touted as one of the best vintages of the decade. The “intensely dark juice of the small, thick-skinned grapes has produced extremely dense and dark-berried young wines. Red wines of excellent quality are anticipated from the entire range of grape varieties,” Austrian Wines reports.
Vintage 2023
2023 is easily my preferred of the last three (2022-2023-2024): It was a year that produced exceptionally well-balanced, aromatic, dense and concentrated whites and reds. Not that it was an easy year: “Dry spells, challenging damp periods and, in some places, severe storms meant that a lot of painstaking work was required in the country’s vineyards,” says the official report.
Yields were likewise down thanks to coulure again, also heavy downy mildew pressure, which was a feature in most of Europe that year. Downy mildew, aka peronospora, causes berries to shrivel up and fall off, and thus affects volume, not quality. But near-perfect September-October weather in most of Lower Austria allowed the remaining grapes to reach an excellent degree of ripeness and ultimately balance. There’s a kinship here between the excellent 2019 and 2021 vintages.
Vintage 2022
2022 was a year for big, generous, powerful, ripe wines in the best of cases, also slightly overripe wines in less successful examples. It was the highest-yielding vintage of the three, with volumes slightly above the long-term average. But aside from the usual challenges, it will be remembered as an exceptionally hot and dry summer, so hot in fact that the ripening process was interrupted as parched vines shut down their photosynthesis as a measure of self-preservation.
Timely rain in the latter part of the season restarted ripening, which progressed rapidly, and got away from some growers, especially as most varieties were ready to harvest around the same time and caused logistical headaches.
Comparatively, the wines of 2022 are reminiscent of those from 2020, and probably 2024 as those latter wines evolve, all three rather hot vintages.
Buyers Guide to Austrian Wines: White
Winzer Krems Kremstal DAC Grüner Veltliner 2024, DAC Kremstal
$17.95, Dionysus Wines
David Lawrason – This is a very good value in very representative, well balanced grüner veltliner. It shows fairly ripe pear, yellow plum, candlewax and some fresh herbs. It is fulsome, rounded yet structured if a bit coarse on the finish. The length is very good to excellent.
Weszeli Felix Grüner Veltliner 2023, Niederösterreich
$20.95, Churchill Cellars Ltd.
John Szabo – The entry into the portfolio of this organic/biodynamic producer (this wine is not certified BD, but is certified organic), it offers everything I hope for in a grüner at this price. All good to go here.
Hiedler Langenloiser Grüner Veltliner Tonmineral 2023, DAC Kamptal
$23.25, ORIGIN WINE AND SPIRITS
Michael Godel – A stony example with ’23 ripeness and great energy, delivering the goods at a great price.
Sommer Grüner Veltliner Schiefer 2023, DAC Leithaberg, Burgenland
$23.95, Wine Alliance
Michael Godel – Self-described as intense and untamed. Pretty good description for an ultra-mineral example with a wisp of smoulder at the finish. Solid stuff.
Megha Jandhyala – Leo Sommer’s grüner from Leithaberg is as delicious as it is reasonably priced. I like its slightly stony, totally citrusy flavour profile and bright and energetic palate.
Ecker Eckhof Kirchberg Grüner Veltliner 2024, DAC Wagram
$24.60, Mercor International Inc.
Sara d’Amato – All apple, white pepper, and a snap of ginger, this grüner has serious pep, and is disarming at first sniff. A compelling, organically grown offering from the Ecker Estate vineyards around Kirchberg am Wagram that delivers far more character than its modest price suggest. A smart buy.
David Lawrason – This is a big, bright yet refined example that is packed with fruit. Lots going on here. The exotic nose delivers plenty of ripe pear, pineapple, waxy lily florality, lemon. It is quite full bodied yet fresh, with very good acidity and some youthful CO2. Slightly bitter on the finish.
Winzer Krems Kremser Kreuzberg Reserve Riesling 2022, DAC Kremstal
$25.25, Dionysis Wines & Spirts Ltd
Megha Jandhyala – I really love the perfume of this Kremstal riesling — tropical and citrusy, delicately floral, with an elusive hint of spice. The palate is also delightful, with vivid acidity and subtle sweetness. At this price, I will be buying a few bottles of this gorgeous Austrian riesling for my cellar!
David Lawrason – This lovely, balanced and complete riesling offers huge value. The nose is soft but rich with complex, interlaced, yellow apple/peach, a hint of maturing honey, classic riesling spice and minerality. It is medium weight, impeccably balanced and even with all kinds of fruit on the palate.
John Szabo – Here’s a generous and broad, full-bodied and appealing riesling produced by the Krems’s highly competent cooperative winery, a good reflection of this warm vintage with its powerful, 13.5% alcohol frame, mostly dry. Drink or hold until the end of the decade.
Nestor Ried Waldacker Grüner Veltliner 2024, Burgenland
$25.95, Azureau Wines & Spirits
Sara d’Amato – Lip-smakingly dry, this single vineyard grüner features riesling-like acidity and a rush of freshly squeezed lime. Taught and nervy, it fires across the palate with an electric dynamism I find irresistible, though its punchy pungency may feel a bit full-on for some. Unapologetically alive.
Wohlmuth Sauvignon Blanc 2022, DAC Südsteiermark
$27.15
Sara d’Amato – Lively and salty, this white carries the distinctive trademark of sauvignon blanc with plenty of aromatic flair. Elegant and dry with savory depth and pervasive minerality, the palate is marked by pear and zesty grapefruit, ending on an upbeat tempo.
John Szabo – More Steiermark than sauvignon in style, and especially the high elevation, schists of Kitzeck-Sauzal where Wohlmuth has his spectacularly steep vineyards. It’s impressively tightly wound for a warm vintage 2022 — the magic of the cooler heights. I love the stony-saltiness on offer. Drink or hold into the early 2030s.
Schuster Roter Veltliner 2023, DAC Wagram
$26.95
Sara d’Amato – A Veltliner by family, this pink-skinned, high-yielding grape needs extra attention in the vineyard. Sensual and a touch audacious, it’s expressive with a guilty-pleasure sort of charm. The palate brims with white pepper, poached pear and dried apple, fleshy with a mineral streak and a hint of lees. Enticing and well-crafted.
Stadt Krems Ried Steiner Grillenparz 1ötw Riesling 2019, DAC Kremstal
$38.00, B. Cojocaru Agencies
Michael Godel – Crunchy and obviously stony riesling, here in an example with age having encouraged secondary characteristics, yet enough freshness to still quench a varietal thirst. All in all correct and elevated for riesling from a defined cru.
Sara d’Amato – If you came in with high expectations befitting its Erste Lage (1st growth) pedigree, rest assured, you won’t be disappointed in this floral, but far from “just-blossoming,” riesling. Taught and mineral-driven, with a crunchy, stony backbone off-set by an off-dry disposition. Sourced from the historically significant Grillenparz cru, it delivers everything you’d hope for in a riesling: precision, balance and confident poise.
David Lawrason – Tasted beside the powerful 2020 vintage of the same wine, this is more delicate, calm and complete. Love the lifted, linden floral, peach blossom, waxy notes on the nose. It is 13.5% but feels lighter than that, with dancing acidity and off-dry residual sugar, and some CO2. Lovely, focus and long flavours.
John Szabo – 2019 is living up to the vintage hype, and this is drinking beautifully. Plenty to admire here; best from now to 2030 or so.
Leindl Riesling Ried Heiligenstein 1ötw 2020, DAC Kamptal Riesling
$ 47.00
John Szabo – A bold and satisfying riesling from the great Heiligenstein vineyard, one of two Erste Lage or “first growth” rieslings in the Leindl portfolio. The 2000 is particularly exotic, with fruit venturing into the tropical spectrum, though acids run on a very tight string containing the ensemble, driving through the back end with considerable force. Salinity is undeniable, a practically salty affair, and length is exceptional. Best from now-2035 or so. Tasted November 2025.
Hiedler Ried Schenkenbichl 1ötw Grüner Veltliner 2022, DAC Kamptal
$61.00, Origin Wine & Spirits
Michael Godel – A mix of pulpy stone fruit and flintiness combines for extraordinary waves of grüner veltliner gifts. This time next year will mark an amazing moment for this wine.
Hiedler Ried Schenkenbichl 1ötw Grüner Veltliner 2023, DAC Kamptal
$61.00, Origin Wine & Spirits
Megha Jandhyala – Concentrated yet poised, layered and somehow clear as crystal, with an enchantingly rich but firm texture, this is a wine of impeccable balance. I would splurge on a bottle and tuck it away in my cellar for another couple of years at least.
Sara d’Amato – A generous mix of fennel and almond on the nose lifted by white pepper and ripe pear, wrapped in a subtle creaminess. It may not crackle with energy, but its purity is notable. A perk of insistent, mineral-driven tension on the palate is balanced by oily charm. Citrus kicks in with punch and purpose, carrying the wine to a generous finish — I’m sold.
John Szabo – I loved the 2022 Schenkenbichl from Hiedler, but the 2023 surpasses it by a nose. The mineral forward nature of this stony, volcanic-metamorphic rock cru comes through with a shade more clarity in 2023, beautifully balanced and succulent, with perfectly ripe and crunchy acids. A truly first-class grüner, best from 2027.
Hirsch Grüner Veltliner Ried Kammerner Lamm 1ÖTW 2023, DAC Kamptal
$75.99 ROGERS & COMPANY
John Szabo – A gorgeous grüner, here like an essence of liquid stone with a squeeze of lemon-lime and a dusting of savoury-botanical herbs alongside a twist of white pepper. Irresistible now but should cellar comfortably into the 2030s given the estate’s track record.
Hiedler Ried Käferberg 1ötw Grüner Veltliner 2022, DAC Kamptal
$76.00 Origin Wine & Spirits
David Lawrason – Another glorious Heidler grüner that showcases what this chameleon grape can do. What a great nose, great poise and length. It shows very complex aromas of ginger, peach/papaya, spice, honey and waxy florality. It is full bodied and expansive but also very well balanced and dialed in. Almost creamy but not thick. Almost sweet but not sweet. Outstanding length.
Heidi Schröck & Sönhe Furmint Ried Turner Burgenland 2023, DAC Burgenland
$N/A (inquire with agent) Context Wines Inc.
John Szabo – Lovely, subtle aromatics, fully in the typical varietal spectrum with its subtle green apple, lemon-lime and botanical-tonic-herbal character, penetrating and simmeringly intense, with excellent length. A superb furmint, surely among Austria’s top examples.
Huber Riesling Ried Berg 1ÖTW Traisental DAC Reserve 2023
$N/A (inquire with agent) ROGERS & COMPANY
John Szabo – Huber’s top riesling is an absolute stunner in 2023, with such pretty aromatics, and lovely, fleshy, balanced palate with high flavour intensity and depth, and length. Generous alcohol warms the palate (14% declared). A riesling of superior quality, with surely a very long life ahead.
Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner Ried Kammerner Renner 1ÖTW 2023 , DAC Kamptal
$N/A (inquire with agent) NOBLE ESTATES WINES & SPIRITS INC.
John Szabo – Clearly a big step up in complexity and intensity from the village grüner from Gobelsburg, the 2023 Renner delivers a wide range of citrus and white and yellow-fleshed orchard fruit flavours in high definition and intensity. I love the tonic bitters on the palate, especially on the long finish, which nicely tightens up the ensemble and refreshes in the face of significant fruit and flavour density. Best from 2026–32 or so.
Buyers Guide to Austrian Wines: Red
Kerschbaum Ried Dürrau Blaufränkisch 2022, DAC Burgenland
$45.00
Michael Godel – Bordeaux approach for a signature Austrian variety and the end result is nothing short of impressive. With thanks to captured acidity and vertical tannins, for great potential.
And that’s all for this report, see you ’round the next bottle.
John Szabo, MS