March 2025 Wine of the Month Club-Austria

     Austrian wine is known for its high quality, unique grape varieties, and strong focus on white wines. The country has a long winemaking tradition, with diverse wine regions and a climate that allows for both fresh, crisp whites and complex reds. It’s been almost two years since we’ve taken you to Austria, and since Spring is upon us, we decided to go back with these fresh and light selections.

     The Thermenregion is a wine-growing region in Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), just south of Vienna. Lower Austria is a bit of an oxymoron, as it’s located in the northeast corner of the country, bordering the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The vines of this region line the hillsides of the Wienerwald (Vienna Woods), stretching from the outskirts of Vienna along a ridge containing the Anninger mounts, the highest elevation south of Baden. It has one of the longest wine traditions in Austria, dating back over 2,000 years to the Roman era. However, it only received its official DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) status in 1985, helping to preserve its winemaking identity. It is known for its distinctive white and red wines, benefiting from a mild climate influenced by the Pannonian Basin and limestone-rich soils. The warm climate with hot summers and mild winters are ideal for both white and red grapes. Limestone and clay soils provide structure and minerality to the wines. The name “Thermenregion” comes from the thermal springs found in the area, which also influenced early settlements and viticulture.

  Started in 1923, Johanneshof Reinisch is a 40 Hectare estate in the village of Tattendorf, located in Thermenregion. Today, the estate is run by the fourth generation of the family: the three Reinisch Brothers – Michael, Hannes, and Christian. The estate sits in a strikingly beautiful valley, in the “suburbs of Vienna”. The holdings at the Johanneshof are split between two villages: Tattendorf, where the winery is located, is down in the valley, where soils are alluvial chalk with a loose soil structure, under a deep layer of humus and clay. The village of Gumpoldskirchen is up on the hillside, at a much higher elevation. The soils are fossil bearing limestone with less topsoil and lighter soil structure. Gumpoldskirchen is slightly colder and windier. With its lighter, limestone dominated soils, the vineyards here are planted to Pinot Noir, as well as Chardonnay, while the valley floor is home to Sankt Laurent and autochthonous varieties Zierfandler and Rotgipfler. Currently the brothers farm 15 hectares in Gumpoldskirchen and 25 in the village Tattendorf. 

     The Reinisch brothers converted to organic viticulture in 2004 and certified in 2010. This is a leading estate for red wine, widely considered to be the best in the region. Currently, the brothers are working on conversion to Bio- dynamics but want to be very connected to the process, “not just doing the two sprays you need for certification” and so they are moving slowly, as they did for organic conversion. More than 50% of the estate is red wine, an even split between Pinot Noir and Sankt Laurent. These are some of the most striking red wines that we’ve tasted from Austria and offer a completely different and complementary character to the excellent red wines we represent from Burgenland and Carnuntum, where Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt are the major players.

     Südsteiermark, in the southeast corner of Austria bordering Slovenia, is reputed for fresh, fragrant wines, especially those produced using the region’s flagship variety, Sauvignon Blanc. Despite this being one of Europe’s most picturesque viticultural regions, the extremely steep gradient of most vineyards make wine growing here a significant challenge. The range of grape varieties in Südsteiermark is just as multifaceted as the wine-growing region’s soils, which range from sand and slate to marl and limestone. The humid Mediterranean climate is what determines the vines’ long annual growth cycle, while the cool nights promote the development of rich aromatics that lend the white wines incredible nuance and grandeur. 

     Found on 300-year-old maps, the vineyard site that would become Sattlerhof was enthroned in the center of Gamlitz on a barren coral limestone rock. Wilhelm Sattler Sr. took over the vineyard from the local pastor and cultivated it into its current form. The distinctive wine style of Wilhelm Sattler Sr. caused a great stir, and also some ridicule. For the first time in the region, he produced wines that were natural, meaning without residual sugar, enhancement, acidification, etc., and dedicated to the character of their origins. These wines, which were often marketed at 10% ABV and 10g acidity with absolutely no residual sugar, were the first of their kind in the region's now-common style. The focus on their origins intensified with the 2012 vintage, when they became one of the first wineries in Southern Styria to bottle Gamlitz Sauvignon Blanc. Today, as then, this wine remains the core of their production.

Prost!

Carrie Upson -  General Manager and Wine Buyer