Niederösterreich, or Lower Austria, is a wine region in the Northeast of Austria bordering Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It is the country's largest wine region, both geographically and in terms of production.
There are around 28,000 hectares (69,000 acres) of vineyards. These are responsible for roughly half of Austria's total wine output.
Niederösterreich includes eight of Austria's 16 official wine regions, each contributing to its wide variety of wine styles and types. A variety of different Grape varieties are grown in the region, but Grüner Veltliner and Riesling dominate. Pinot Noir and Sankt-Laurent, are all planted throughout the region, making wines of high quality, despite being excluded from the DAC classifications.
Five official Districtus Austriae Controllatus (DAC) wines can be found here.
Wines made in these zones from grapes other than those specified are labelled as Niederösterreich.
- Carnuntum: White wine from Chardonnay, Weissburgunder or Grüner Veltliner. Red wine from Blaufränkisch or Zweigelt
- Kamptal, Kremstal, Traisental: White wines from Grüner Veltliner or Riesling
- Weinviertel: Grüner Veltliner only
The highly regarded region of Wachau also Lies within Niederösterreich, and is home to many of the country's top wine estates. It has its own classification system, carrying Steinfeder, Federspiel or Smaragd labels.
Müller-Thurgau shows the character of its noble origins. This Swiss white grape variety is a cross between the royal madeleine and the riesling. The idea that the latter was crossed with the sylvaner is irrelevant. The variety can be recognized by its vigorous character and its semi-erect habit. Preferring rich soils and short prunings, the plant sees its buds open quite early. The buds are cottony and soft green in color. The slightly embossed and tormented blade, with 5 to 7 lobes, makes it possible to distinguish the adult leaves. The clusters appear compact, pyramidal or cylindrical in shape and small to medium in size. The flavour of the Müller-Turgau berries is reminiscent of Muscat. The juicy and crunchy pulp is revealed under a greyish skin. When ripe, the fruit has a mottled shell on a golden yellow background. Switzerland prefers to extract the juice from this variety. The wine made from it is rather heavy and does not keep well.
wines from the region of Niederösterreich go well with generally quite well with dishes of pork, vegetarian or lean fish such as recipes of chicken blanquette, mushroom, bacon and gruyere quiche or breton cotriade.
On the nose in the region of Niederösterreich often reveals types of flavors of pineapple, cream or grapefruit and sometimes also flavors of tropical, citrus or apples. In the mouth in the region of Niederösterreich is a with a nice freshness.
