Austria: Grüner Veltliner, the Danube and the DAC System

Austria grows wine on 44,210 hectares, and the vineyard sits mainly in the east of the country. The federal states of Niederösterreich (26,732 hectares), Burgenland (11,538 hectares), Steiermark (5,109 hectares) and Wien (588 hectares) each form their own generic Weinbaugebiet, and together they contain 17 specific Weinbaugebiete. Five further Weinbaugebiete sit in the Weinbauregion Bergland, namely Kärnten, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Tirol and Vorarlberg. The area figures come from the Österreich Wein Marketing GmbH (ÖWM) documentation, which counts 10,012 holdings across Austria for the 2023/24 rolling year and calculates area from the BML INVEKOS system. Austrian wine law is built on the Weingesetz 2009, BGBl. I Nr. 111/2009, last amended by BGBl. I Nr. 91/2023. The ÖWM describes the pillars of the law as controlled origin, the hectare yield limit, the quality levels and state quality control, with European wine law as its basis. Under the law the country separates wine with origin, meaning Qualitätswein and DAC plus Landwein, from wine without origin, and grades grapes by must weight expressed in degrees Klosterneuburger Mostwaage. The DAC system for area-typical Qualitätswein started in 2003, and as of July 2023 there are 18 DAC origins.

• 44,210 hectares of vineyard and 10,012 holdings in the 2023/24 rolling year (ÖWM after BML/INVEKOS)
• Four generic Weinbaugebiete contain 17 specific Weinbaugebiete, and the Bergland region holds five more
• Weingesetz 2009, BGBl. I Nr. 111/2009, last amended by BGBl. I Nr. 91/2023
• 18 DAC origins as of July 2023, beginning with Weinviertel DAC in 2003 (ÖWM)

The ÖWM calls Austria a cool climate country and divides it into five climatic areas: the Donauraum, the Weinviertel, the pannonian area, Steiermark and Bergland. Three of them meet at Vienna. The ÖWM names four European influences on these areas: continental pannonian climate, moderate atlantic climate, cool air from the north and illyrian mediterranean climate. In the Donauraum warm pannonian air moves along the Wagram into the side valleys of the Danube, the Strassertal, Kamptal, Kremstal and Traisental, and then into the narrow Wachau valley, where the Danube has cut deep into the bedrock of the Bohemian Massif. The Weinviertel is bounded by the Manhartsberg in the west, the Danube in the south and the state border in the east and north. South east of Vienna the warm pannonian climate reaches Carnuntum, the Thermenregion and Burgenland with little to slow it down. Geology differs sharply between the states. In Niederösterreich loess is the parent material for somewhat more than half of the vineyards, about a third sit on Neogene deposits of the Molasse zone and the Vienna Basin, and somewhat over six percent lie on soils over crystalline bedrock of the Bohemian Massif. In Burgenland coarse, variably calcareous sandy gravels of old Danube courses account for more than 60 percent, and the Seewinkel gravels alone carry about a third of the state's vineyards. In the Wachau the Danube has cut through gneiss and amphibolite, and windblown dust from the ice ages left loess on the eastern sides of the crystalline slopes. In the Kamptal the Heiligenstein carries Permian desert sandstone 270 million years old with volcanic elements.

• Five climatic areas: Donauraum, Weinviertel, pannonian area, Steiermark and Bergland (ÖWM)
• Niederösterreich: loess is the parent material for somewhat more than half of the vineyards (ÖWM)
• Burgenland: coarse sandy gravels of old Danube courses account for more than 60 percent of vineyard soils (ÖWM)
• Kamptal: Permian desert sandstone 270 million years old at the Heiligenstein (ÖWM)

Section 21 of the Weingesetz 2009 sets the geographic units. Burgenland, Niederösterreich and Wien form the Weinbauregion Weinland, Kärnten, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Tirol and Vorarlberg form the Weinbauregion Bergland, and Steiermark forms the Weinbauregion Steirerland. Below the country name a wine may be labelled with a Weinbauregion, a Weinbaugebiet, a Großlage, a cross-communal wine community, a commune or commune part, or a Ried in combination with the name of the commune, and a Ried name must be preceded by the word Ried. The ÖWM sets out three categories by origin: Wein, which carries no geographic indication, Landwein, which is the Austrian traditional term for wine with a protected geographical indication and takes the names Weinland, Steirerland or Bergland, and Qualitätswein, which is the Austrian traditional term for wine with a protected designation of origin and comes from a single Weinbaugebiet. Section 10 of the law lists the conditions for Qualitätswein: the grapes come from a single Weinbaugebiet, only quality wine varieties are used, the must weight is at least 15 degrees KMW, the wine passes the sensory examination for the state test number, the actual alcohol is at least 9.0 percent by volume and at least 5.0 percent for Prädikatswein, total acidity is at least 4 grams per litre, and the hectare maximum under section 23 is not exceeded. Section 23 sets that maximum at 9,000 kilograms of grapes or 6,750 litres of wine per hectare, and at 10,000 kilograms or 7,500 litres after the vineyard register is converted to the integrated administration and control system; the ÖWM states the general limit as 10,000 kilograms of grapes or 7,500 litres of wine per hectare. Qualitätswein may only be sold with a state test number, and Kabinett requires at least 17 degrees KMW with no enrichment and no sweetening. Prädikatswein is a group of Qualitätsweine of particular ripeness and harvest method, and the ÖWM lists the minimum must weights: Spätlese 19 degrees KMW, Auslese 21 degrees KMW, Beerenauslese 25 degrees KMW, Eiswein 25 degrees KMW, Strohwein or Schilfwein 25 degrees KMW, and Trockenbeerenauslese 30 degrees KMW. The term Ausbruch may be used for Trockenbeerenauslese from the Freistadt Rust, and only in connection with the geographic indication Rust. Section 10 paragraph 7 provides that wine may be sold as Districtus Austriae Controllatus, or DAC, if it also meets the conditions set by regulation for area-typical Qualitätswein with origin profiles, and the term is always given together with the area concerned. The ÖWM counts 18 DAC origins as of July 2023 and reports a trend among DAC wines towards the three narrower origin levels Gebietswein, Ortswein and Lagenwein.

• Three Weinbauregionen in the law: Weinland, Bergland and Steirerland (Weingesetz 2009, section 21)
• Qualitätswein: grapes from a single Weinbaugebiet, at least 15 degrees KMW, at least 9.0 percent alcohol by volume, state test number (Weingesetz 2009, section 10)
• Prädikat minimum must weights: Spätlese 19, Auslese 21, Beerenauslese 25, Eiswein 25, Strohwein or Schilfwein 25, Trockenbeerenauslese 30 degrees KMW (ÖWM)
• DAC stands for Districtus Austriae Controllatus and is set by regulation for area-typical Qualitätswein (Weingesetz 2009, section 10 paragraph 7)

The hub below follows the Austrian regions that organise this wiki. Hectare figures and holding counts are the 2023/24 rolling year values published in the ÖWM documentation and calculated after BML/INVEKOS, and the origin facts come from the ÖWM and the Weingesetz 2009.

• Burgenland: 11,538 hectares across 2,345 holdings. The ÖWM describes the state as shaped by the continental hot pannonian climate. It holds five specific Weinbaugebiete, Eisenberg, Leithaberg (including Rust), Mittelburgenland, Neusiedlersee and Rosalia. In the Seewinkel high autumn humidity from the small Zicklacken encourages noble rot, so Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are made regularly, and Ruster Ausbruch DAC was recognised in 2020.
• Kamptal: 3,567 hectares across 539 holdings, named after the river Kamp, with Langenlois as its main town. Kamptal DAC dates from 2008 and covers Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Chardonnay, Weißburgunder and Grauburgunder. From the 2025 vintage all Kamptal DAC wines are certified either organic or Nachhaltig Austria.
• Lower Austria: 26,732 hectares across 5,503 holdings, the English name for Niederösterreich. The ÖWM groups its eight specific Weinbaugebiete into three climatic areas, the Weinviertel in the north, the Donauraum with its side valleys west of Vienna, and pannonian Lower Austria in the south east.
• Niederösterreich: the German name of the same generic Weinbaugebiet, whose specific areas run from the Wachau in the west to Carnuntum in the east. The Weinviertel is the largest of them at 13,730 hectares across 2,372 holdings, and it was the first Austrian area to market only its area-typical wine, Grüner Veltliner, under the area name, as Weinviertel DAC from 2003.
• Steiermark: 5,109 hectares across 1,760 holdings, with three specific Weinbaugebiete, Südsteiermark, Vulkanland Steiermark and Weststeiermark. All three were raised to DAC status with the 2018 vintage, and their wines are profiled in the three levels Gebietswein, Ortswein and Riedenwein. Schilcher, made in the Weststeiermark, comes from Blauer Wildbacher, the most planted red variety in Steiermark at 518 hectares.
• Styria: the English name for Steiermark. The state forms the Weinbauregion Steirerland under section 21 of the Weingesetz 2009, and the ÖWM records 5,110 hectares and 1,760 holdings for Steirerland in the 2023/24 rolling year.
• Vienna: the English name for Wien, 588 hectares across 173 holdings. The ÖWM notes that Wien is at the same time a generic and a specific Weinbaugebiet, and that its vineyards lie mainly in the suburbs, from the Bisamberg north of the Danube to Heiligenstadt, Nussdorf, Grinzing, Sievering and Neustift am Walde.
• Wachau: 1,285 hectares across 419 holdings in the narrow Danube valley between Melk and Krems. Wachau DAC applies from the 2020 vintage in three levels, Gebietswein, Ortswein and Riedenwein, and Ried designations are reserved for Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. Hand harvesting is compulsory for Wachau DAC.
• Wachau/Kremstal (Danube Valley): both areas lie in the Donauraum, where Grüner Veltliner and Riesling dominate from the Wachau in the west to Vienna. Kremstal covers 2,242 hectares across 534 holdings, and Kremstal DAC dates from 2007, while the neighbouring Wachau covers 1,285 hectares.
• Wien: Wiener Gemischter Satz was taken into the DAC family in 2013. The regulation requires at least three white quality wine varieties planted together in a Viennese vineyard entered in the Viennese vineyard register as Wiener Gemischter Satz, the largest single variety share may not exceed 50 percent and the third largest share must reach at least 10 percent. About 240 hectares in Vienna are planted to gemischter Satz.

Austria admits 28 white and 14 red grape varieties for the production of Qualitätswein, Prädikatswein and Landwein, and the ÖWM puts the number of varieties permitted for Qualitätswein at 42. In the 2023/24 rolling year 30,254 hectares, or 68.4 percent of the planted area, were planted to white quality wine varieties. Grüner Veltliner is the most planted variety at 14,296 hectares, 32.3 percent of the total variety area, followed by Zweigelt at 5,940 hectares, 13.4 percent, and Welschriesling at 2,774 hectares, 6.3 percent. The variety table for 2023/24 gives Blaufränkisch 2,550.08 hectares, Riesling 2,025.05 hectares, Chardonnay (Morillon) 1,926.66 hectares, Sauvignon Blanc 1,739.69 hectares and Muskateller 1,543.43 hectares. By generic Weinbaugebiet, Grüner Veltliner leads the white varieties in Niederösterreich at 13,111 hectares and in Burgenland at 1,072 hectares, Sauvignon Blanc leads in Steiermark at 965 hectares, and in Wien the leading white planting is Wiener Gemischter Satz at 239 hectares. Among red varieties Zweigelt leads in Niederösterreich at 3,397 hectares and in Wien at 33 hectares, Blaufränkisch leads in Burgenland at 2,394 hectares ahead of Zweigelt at 2,239 hectares, and Blauer Wildbacher leads in Steiermark at 518 hectares. The ÖWM also lists the autochthonous varieties admitted for Qualitätswein: the white Frühroter Veltliner, Grüner Veltliner, Neuburger, Rotgipfler, Roter Veltliner, Sylvaner and Zierfandler, and the red Blauer Portugieser, Blauer Wildbacher, Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent.

• Grüner Veltliner: 14,296 hectares in 2023/24, 32.3 percent of the variety area (ÖWM after BML/INVEKOS)
• Zweigelt: 5,940 hectares, 13.4 percent, and Welschriesling 2,774 hectares, 6.3 percent, in 2023/24
• White quality wine varieties covered 30,254 hectares, 68.4 percent of the planted area, in 2023/24
• 28 white and 14 red varieties are admitted for Qualitätswein, Prädikatswein and Landwein (ÖWM)

According to the ÖWM documentation, drawing on Statistik Austria and the agriculture ministry with a cut-off date of 30 November, Austrian wine production for 2025 was 2.56 million hectolitres, 11 percent above the average of the previous five years and 37 percent above the very small 2024 crop, which was the smallest since 2010. White wine reached 1.86 million hectolitres, up 44 percent on 2024, and red wine 701,000 hectolitres, up 21 percent. The harvest table gives 2,561,566 hectolitres for Austria in 2025 against 1,870,642 hectolitres in 2024. Qualitätswein and Prädikatswein together accounted for 2.27 million hectolitres in 2025, 30 percent more than in 2024. The OIV, on its own basis, records Austrian wine production of 2.2 million hectolitres in 2024, 8.8 percent below 2023, and Austrian wine consumption of 2.2 million hectolitres in 2024, 2.6 percent below 2023. According to the ÖWM, Austria exported 60.6 million litres of wine in 2025 for a value of 218.9 million euro, each about 5 percent below the previous year, with the figures drawn from provisional Statistik Austria export data. Germany was the largest export market at 93.3 million euro and 35.5 million litres, followed by Switzerland at 17.8 million euro and 2.5 million litres, the United States at 17.1 million euro and 3.1 million litres, and Canada at 15.4 million euro and 2.3 million litres. Organic vineyard area reached 10,717 hectares in 2025, 25 percent of the area currently recorded in INVEKOS, farmed by 1,316 holdings.

• 2.56 million hectolitres produced in 2025, 11 percent above the five-year average (ÖWM, cut-off 30 November 2025)
• Exports of 60.6 million litres for 218.9 million euro in 2025, each about 5 percent below 2024 (ÖWM after Statistik Austria)
• Germany took 35.5 million litres worth 93.3 million euro in 2025, the largest export market (ÖWM)
• Organic vineyard area of 10,717 hectares in 2025, 25 percent of the area recorded in INVEKOS, on 1,316 holdings (ÖWM)

Primary sources (Österreich Wein Marketing GmbH and the Austrian federal legal information system RIS): https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/weinbaugebiete, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/presse-media/statistik, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/das-weingesetz/weingesetz-idgf, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/klima-boden, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/rebsorten, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/das-weingesetz/weinkategorien-nach-herkunft, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/strategie-des-herkunftsmarketings/gebietstypischer-qualitaetswein-dac, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/strategie-des-herkunftsmarketings/herkunftsbezeichnungen-fuer-qualitaetswein, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/das-weingesetz/weinkategorien-nach-herkunft/wein-mit-geschuetzter-ursprungsbezeichnung, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/weinbaugebiete/niederoesterreich, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/weinbaugebiete/burgenland, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/weinbaugebiete/steiermark, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/weinbaugebiete/wien, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/weinbaugebiete/niederoesterreich/wachau, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/weinbaugebiete/niederoesterreich/kamptal, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/unser-wein/klima-boden/klimagebiete, https://ogd.ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/i/2009/111/P9/NOR40181264, https://ogd.ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/i/2009/111/P10/NOR40254625, https://ogd.ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/i/2009/111/P11/NOR40181266, https://ogd.ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/i/2009/111/P21/NOR40254626, https://ogd.ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/i/2009/111/P23/NOR40181271, https://www.oesterreichwein.at/fileadmin/user_upload/PDF/Doku/Dokumentation_OEsterreich_Wein_Gesamtdokument.pdf. Secondary sources: https://www.oiv.int/sites/default/files/documents/OIV-State_of_the_World_Vine-and-Wine-Sector-in-2024.pdf, https://info.bml.gv.at/themen/landwirtschaft/landwirtschaft-in-oesterreich/pflanzliche-produktion/wein.html, https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/. Last verified 2026-09-16.