Austrian sparkling wine producers and their “Day of Sparkling Wine”

A logo was created, particularly for the Austrian Sparkling Wine Day. Even Federal Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich was involved when the sparkling wines were chosen by a jury of experts. He has established a close relationship with wines during his time as Minister of Agriculture in Burgenland, and he is also a frequent guest at events organized by Austrian Wine Marketing,

On October 22^nd, attention will be brought to the various occasions where sparkling wines could be used. Interested parties can obtain information about the origin of the grapes (which often come from the wine district in Greater Poysdorf), as well as manufacturing methods. And with plenty of tasting opportunities, you can learn about the facets of Austrian sparkling wine. In Vienna, visitors will be asked to taste sparkling wines for a good cause at a joint booth, as part of a charity project.

The Austrian sparkling wine market differs from the neighboring country in some respects. The sparkling wine tax was abolished several years ago, to stop the distribution of cheap sparkling wine sold in Austria. Austrians drink less sparkling wine than Germans, but their per capita consumption of about three liters per year is not bad compared to other countries. Much of the content of some 25 million bottles of annual consumption (450 million bottles come from Germany) are produced from Austrian basic wines. With sales of more than 50 percent, the hotel & hospitality sector is the most important partner of sparkling wine houses.

From left to right: Wolfgang Rosam, Eduard Kranebitter (Schlumberger), winner Judith Martini, Federal minister Niki Berlakovich, Rudi Reisner (Leo Burnett Agency) - (Photo: Schlumberger)

“Winzersekte” (German term for a quality sparkling wine) may not be called that, because the Germans fought back a few years ago against the takeover of the protected term (therefore, “Hauersekt” is rarely used “emergency designation”). But there are is a specialist for the production of sparkling wine from private estates, namely the Szigeti winery in Gols, Burgenland, which has its own luxury brands, and which produces sparkling wines for over a hundred companies as well. In addition, the Austrian connoisseurs are obviously more demanding than German sparkling wine drinkers who like to buy cheaper wines. Cheap brands are rare to find in Austria’s shelves. The extensive fermentation in the bottle is even the rule with the “Schlumberger Sparkling”, probably the most popular brand. With the acquisition of “Hochriegl” by Kattus, Schlumberger was able to seal another important brand (volume sales of about two million bottles) a year ago.

The Viennese company, founded by the skilled banker Robert Schlumberger in Bad Vöslau in the south of Vienna in 1842 and has long been owned by the German beverage company Underberg, created the Nobel champagne “DOM TFXT” in cooperation with the landowners Illa Szemes (Burgenland), Manfred Tement (Südsteiermark) and FX Pichler (Wachau) several years ago. The first edition was qualitatively not satisfactory (although it was praised by the influenceable Austrian media). The new bottles of the 2006 vintage of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir have met the high demands. One may assume that several DOM corks will pop on October 22^nd. And that it will be of golden color since the family-owned winery Inführ in Klosterneuburg will definitely be advertising their extravagant “Östereich Gold”, which contains 23 carat gold. (r.knoll)