For some years now, more and more wine estates across Austria have been riddling, twisting and disgorging bottles, while established Sekt producers are also enriching the market with new, exciting products.
With the introduction of Austria’s highest sparkling wine category, Sekt Austria, in 2015, Austrian producers set the course striving for uncompromising quality in the sparkling genre. They created clear rules for the production process and moulded them into a three-tier pyramid of origins featuring the categories Sekt Austria, Sekt Austria Reserve and Sekt Austria Grosse Reserve (Grande Reserve). This is an extension of the success story that the nation’s still wines have been writing for many years. Especially since it is the same small-scale, picturesque cultural landscape in which the vines yield the raw material for the base wines. And in many cases, the same excellent producers who carefully tend the vineyards all year round are vinifying these base wines.
Look for the banderole!
Today more than ever, consumers are demanding transparency regarding production processes in various areas of life, especially in comestibles. This is exactly what Sekt Austria offers. The designation may only be used for sparkling wine that comes 100%from Austria, from the grown grape to the finished wine. A visible indicator for this is the red-white-red banderole on the top of the capsule, which also guarantees that the Sekt has undergone successful sensory examination by its designated tasting panel.
Three categories and their special features
A look at the pyramid of origins shows that for Sekt Austria without any additional designation, a minimum maturation period of nine months is prescribed for production using the traditional method (done like in Champagne), and six months for the Charmat method (secondary fermentation in tank). The grapes used in both techniques must come from a single Austrian federal state.
For Sekt Austria Reserve, manual harvesting is mandatory, as is the traditional method of vinification and maturation on the lees for at least 18 months; a designation of municipality is also permitted here. For Grosse Reserve, the period of maturing is extended to 36 months and the grapes may only come from one municipality, where a vineyard designation is also possible.
Pet Nat and Frizzante
The variety of marvellous Austrian sparklers is greater than ever before. In the wake of the upswing for Sekt Austria, numerous creative sparkling wine products are also revitalising the market. Above all, trendy Pet Nats are proving to be a door opener for the younger target group, while the barometer of success in the Frizzante segment is also pointing upwards.