From Peter Niederhauser
, at 10. April 2012 18:13
by Richard Woodard – Neusiedlersee has been named as the latest DAC appellation in Austria – completing the family of DACs in Burgenland and the first to focus on the Zweigelt grape variety. From vintage 2011, wines can be released under the Neusiedlersee or Neusiedlersee Reserve DACs, alongside Burgenland’s existing DAC appellations: Mittelburgenland, Leithaberg and Eisenberg.
Straight Neusiedlersee wines should be ‘variety-typical, spicy and harmonious’, made up of 100% Zweigelt, matured in steel or oak and at least 12% abv. Meanwhile, Neusiedlersee Reserve wines can be pure Zweigelt or a blend consisting of at least 60% Zweigelt, with the remainder made up of indigenous varieties. The Reserve wines must be matured in traditional big wooden casks or in barriques, with a minimum abv of 13% stated on the label.
Zweigelt is Austria’s best-known red grape variety and the most widely planted grape in Burgenland, with 1,812ha under vine. ‘Through the new Neusiedlersee DAC, fruitiy and harmonious red wines marked by local climate and soil characteristics should be emphasised and their level of awareness raised,’ said Andreas Liegenfeld, head of Burgenland’s regional wine committee. Austria created the DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus) designation in 2003, with other DACs across the country including Weinviertel, Traisental, Kremstal and Kamptal.
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