The best Austrian wines chosen by our expert
Wake up to the joys of Austrian wine and add some fine insider favourites to your must-drink list.
Wake up to the joys of Austrian wine and add some fine insider favourites to your must-drink list.
On my first visit to Austria’s wine regions I shared a bed with a disgruntled German man called Markus.
There was a mix up and an overbooking. But we made do with a dividing line of pillows and small talk about Grüner Veltliner. Markus and I agreed that Austria is one of those ‘sommelier’s choice’ wine places.
It’s underrated in shops, but over-represented on wine lists. And with good reason. The national white grape, Grüner Veltliner, is food-friendly with a white-pepper ‘bite’.
So, from salads to goat’s cheese to Thai dishes, it’s a fabulous match. For a great value introduction to the grape, try Morrisons The Best Grüner Veltliner 2024 (11.5%, RRP £10) made by Markus Huber.
No, not the Markus I shared a bed with but one of the producers we met on the trip. Swap your usual Sauvignon Blanc for this aromatic blend of ripe grape fruit and dill herb characters.
For a step up in quality and intensity, I love Kraft des Landes Grüner Veltliner 2024 (12%, RRP £15.99). It’s a wine that still has that zippy, tingling zest of lime and stone fruit, but with more weight and richness.
You can match it with prawns and chilli or Thai spices, but also with a roast chicken. This is why sommeliers love Grüner Veltliner so much – it can work with everyone’s choice on the table.
Sommeliers also know it’s very hard to find a bad Austrian wine. Austria imports more than it exports, so only the good stuff leaves.
The only problem is sometimes it has odd names we don’t recognise. Like Morrisons The Best Block Series 004 Neiderrostereich Zweigelt 2024 (12.5%, RRP £13). Try saying that after… I don’t know… a bottle of Neiderrostereich Zweigelt.
Or better still, just pour another glass of this crunchy, gluggable red. It’s bright enough to drink on its own but juicy enough for light grills and pasta sauces.
The Wine Society calls its Zweigelt ‘The Society’s Austrian Red 2023’ (13%, RRP £9.95). And it sensibly points out that if you like Beaujolais, you’ll love the plummy, cranberry style of this wine.
It’s almost impossible not to like, making it the perfect have-in-the-house-for-any-occasion red. I recommend buying an ‘emergency’ case.
The reason my bedmate Markus and I were in Austria was to study for the famously challenging Master of Wine exams. I might have had to share a bed but on the upside I gained an expertise in Austria and a love of Austrian Riesling. Austria’s Rieslings are drier and more structured than Germany’s, with more stone fruit and spice.
Like one of my desert island wines, Weingut Emmerich Knoll Grüner Veltliner Ried Kreutles Federspiel, Wachau 2024 (12.5%, RRP £30.50).
This is wine in 4K high-definition: precise and tingly apple and lemon, herbal aromas and a soft finish. I also love the baroque labels featuring St Urban, the patron saint of winemakers.
If that’s a bit steep, try Rabl Schenkenbichl Riesling Reserve 2020 (13%, RRP £23.00). Minerally, exotic, intense, and lingering. You’ll enjoy it so much you’ll want to take a glass to bed. With Markus.
Hero image credit: AWL Images
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