| AT THIS TIME, WE DO NOT ANY MORE CARRY ANY AUSTRIANS WINES |
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Austria is a stunningly beautiful country of many contrasts that is an absolute must for anybody interested in wine. Its superb climate produces beautiful crisp dry white wines, full- bodied red wines, and the most delicious dessert wines. During the last few years Austria's reputation for producing excellent wines has been acknowledged in numerous wine journals by many reputable wine writers.
Following the 1985 wine scandal, Austria embarked on a fundamental shake up of its wine laws. The resulting laws, loosely based on the German system, probably make Austrian wines the most rigorously controlled in the world. There are three main categories of Austrian wine: Tafelwein, Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein along with two sub-categories of Landwein and Kabinett wine.- - Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein both undergo a chemical and tasting analysis which is identified by the Banderole on the neck of the bottle.
The starting point for all Austrian wines is the KMW or Klosterneuburger Mostwaage (must sugar level). As a point of reference, 1 KMW equals 5 degrees Oechlse or 10gms sugar per litre of must. The system was developed in 1869 by the first director of the wine institute in Klosterneuburg, August Freiher von Babo.
| Tafelwein: | Produced from within Austria, can be inter-regionally blended or from one region, with a minimum must weight of 12 KMW. |
| Landwein: | Part of the Tafelwein group but must come from within one wine growing region with no inter-regional blending allowed. It must have a minimum must weight of 14 KMW and a maximum alcohol level of 11.5% and 6 g/l residual sugar. |
| Qualitätswein: | Whilst the minimum must weight is 15 KMW, the wine will be allowed chaptalisation to a maximum of 19 KMW for white wines and 20 KMW for red wines with minimum alcohol levels of 8.5% and 9.0% respectively. This can be carried out by the addition of sugar up to a maximum of 4.5kg per 100L of juice. |
| Kabinett: | These wines can not be chaptalised although they are regarded as Qualitätswein. They must have a minimum must weight of 17 KMW however there is a maximum placed on the final alcohol content of 12.5%. |
| Prädikatswein: | Covers a range of wines from Spätlese to Eiswein. As with Kabinett wines, no chaptalisation is allowed nor the addition of Süssreserve. Residual sugar must be the result of stopping the fermentation process or natural stoppage. |