Chapter 1941 Austrian Wine

"Do you have an annual export quota for your wine?"

"No, my wine will be stored in my private wine cellar every year. When it is old enough, I will take it out for drinking. If you like it, I can give you a few boxes. You don't have to buy it yourself~"

"What I mean is, if you have the quota that can be sold, we can cooperate. I am preparing a wine group."

"So that's the case, but Austria's output is too low, so it may be difficult to supply for export~"

"It doesn't matter, you can go the boutique route."

Alois thought about it for a long time and said, "Okay, let me think about it. I have many vineyards at home."

The two clinked glasses and Yang Cheng said, "I'm waiting for your good news. In addition, maybe I can find a day to visit your manor~"

"I'll arrange it~"

Austria's wine industry has a long history. According to research, grapevines existed in Austria 4,000 years ago.

Over the course of history, this land has changed owners several times, but viticulture has never ceased.

Austria's wine-producing areas are concentrated in the eastern region. The cool continental climate makes the white wine here unique, refreshing and mellow, while the red wine is delicate and elegant without losing the fruity aroma. Therefore, Austrian wine is similar to the wines from the United States and Australia. It's different from a full-bodied, full-flavored wine, more like a French wine, tart and firm, with a hint of herbaceous aromas.

This is entirely due to the superior climatic conditions in Austria, which is very suitable for grape growth. This is a landlocked country located between 47 and 48 degrees north latitude. It has a typical continental climate, with a large temperature difference between summer and winter, and short summers and long winters. Although its latitude is the same as France's Burgundy, Beaune and Alsace, the temperature changes here are more dramatic, and only hot summers and cold nights can produce delicate wines with refreshing aromas. .

In addition, Austria’s beautiful environment, fresh air, and good water quality can also give the wine produced a unique charm.

The outstanding representative of Austrian wine is Grüner Feiterina, but there are many other varieties that can surprise wine lovers.

However, in 1985, Austrian wines were questioned after it was revealed that they were fraudulent, and wine exports almost came to a standstill.

Just as a rainbow can only be seen after going through storms, Austrian wine has since undergone a complete reorganization and formulated stringent production standards, making Austria one of the countries with the highest production standards in the world.

Grüner Fitrina wine exudes the aroma of grass, fresh and fragrant, with lively acidity and peppery spiciness. Grüner Fitrina is often compared to Sauvignon Blanc because of its peppery and grass-like plant aroma.

With the improvement of quality, Grüner Fitterina wine becomes more expensive and its flavor becomes more complex and varied, much like Burgundy Chardonnay wine matured in oak barrels.

Another large variety is Zweig, which is also the red grape variety with the largest planting area in Austria.

Zweig is light-bodied and does not require much oak barrel aging, similar to Grenache or Gamay. Because of the cool weather when growing, it will have a slight bitterness when harvested.

The price of most Zweig wines is not high. After aging, high-quality Zweig wines will have rich cherry aroma with a hint of oak barrels.

And Zweig wine is worth tasting slowly, even if it takes an hour, because it may be bitter or sour at first, but then it will be mellow, round and rich in fruity taste, with flavors of black cherry and raspberry.

Then there is Blue Frank, which is also the most suitable Austrian red wine for aging. Aged red wine has moderate acidity and rich tannins. When young, the tannins are usually rough, but as the aging time increases, the tannins It will become soft and round, with a sweet and fragrant taste.

The Blue Frank exudes aromas of blackberries, sour cherries and elegant citrus spices, with powerful tannins evident on the palate.

But what impressed Yang Cheng the most was Yves Saint Laurent. He had drunk a lot of wines produced in Austria, but Yves Saint Laurent was the only one that remained fresh in his memory. It might have something to do with the name. After all, that was the name of a well-known luxury cosmetics brand.

Although it only accounts for 2% of the acreage, the wine produced by Saint Laurent has a striking similarity in taste to Pinot Noir. In fact, they are not related, although as demand increased, the Saint Laurent grape became It's becoming increasingly scarce and prices are starting to rise, but it's a great alternative to Pinot Noir.

But as Alois said, Austria’s wine production is too low, which is also related to that period of history.

Today, Austria is the kingdom of wine, and the Made in Austria wine trademark is sought after by people all over the world. But who knows that Austria’s production has not always been so low.

Austria now uses the strictest wine laws in the world to supervise the wine production process. Each bottle of Austrian wine has its national inspection number marked on the label, and a red-white-red pattern seal is used to verify the quality of the wine. , it can be said that the quality of the wine produced here is guaranteed by the credibility of the Austrian country.

If Austrian grapes had not been exposed to a shocking scandal in the last century, this step might not have been possible.

As early as the 5th century AD, the Romans began to revitalize the development of grape varieties in Austria, but they were destroyed with the invasion of the Bavarians and Avars.

Beginning in 788 AD, Charlemagne formulated new regulations, rebuilt vineyards and introduced new grape varieties. After that, Austrian vineyards were mainly managed by churches and encouraged the public to plant together. In the mid-14th century, Rudolf IV introduced a wine tax system , Vienna became a wine trading center. The wine business developed and prospered in the 16th century, but after the Thirty Years War and the following 17th century, taxes were very heavy and complicated.

In the 18th century, under the enlightened Empress Maria Theresa, farmers were exempted from taxes.

Her son Joseph II issued an exemption in 1784, allowing winegrowers to sell the new wine they brewed that year at home and enjoy wine tax exemption.

As a result, wine estates sprung up all over Austria. This decree continues to this day, and new wine hotels were born. Nowadays, people in Austria are very willing to spend their leisure time in new wine hotels.

During World War II, Austria was annexed by Germany, and the wine industry was devastated. After the war, only some simple bulk white wines were produced here. After the war, the quality of Austrian wine was poor, and its share of the bulk market was also declining. There were many industrial crises, and heavy Under pressure, some producers began to take opportunistic measures, produce a large number of counterfeit goods, and artificially increase wine production.

After World War II, Austria once became the world's third largest wine producer, mainly exporting bulk wine for blending with Germany or other countries.

However, the good times did not last long, and the Austrians soon tasted the consequences of this crazy export of cheap bulk wine. In the 20th century, Austrian wines were exported to Germany in large quantities. These wines were light, highly acidic, and disliked by others.

Some unscrupulous traders have discovered that wines are popular by adding the compound diethylene glycol, a toxic compound used as an antifreeze that can increase the sweetness and body of wine.

However, this bad behavior was discovered during a routine tax inspection and was reported by the media at the time that "Austrian wine was adulterated with antifreeze." This became the famous "1985 wine scandal."

The outbreak of the scandal led many countries to boycott the import of Austrian wine. This incident seriously affected the reputation of Austrian wine and led to a sharp decline in its wine exports.

The scandal caused Austria to rethink its wines. A series of strict new regulations were introduced, wineries began to produce more red wines and dry white wines, and intermediaries also encouraged wineries to produce more wines that express local terroir.

Since then, Austrian wine has begun to transform. A large number of bulk wine producers have closed down. People have begun to pay attention to small producers and emerging producers who value wine quality. They have revised wine laws and strictly limited the large output of legal production areas. You must know that Austrian grapes The area of ​​the vineyard is half the size of Germany, but the wine production is only a quarter of German wine. Austria has become the most strictly regulated wine industry in Europe, and even in the world.

After decades of development, driven by the pursuit of high-quality wine, Austrian wine has overcome many obstacles and finally became a high-quality wine producer in the new century. It has made a comeback. Now, the overall quality of Austrian wine is better than any in history. All times are better.

With better development prospects, the Austrians are also happy to add some entertainment to the wine. They elect a wine queen every year, and each of the 16 wine-producing regions in Austria sends a candidate princess. The person must come from a wine-producing family or have complete professional education in viticulture, enology, etc.; must be over 18 years old, unmarried, and may not enter into a marriage contract within one year of being elected queen.

Wine queens and princesses are mainly Austrian wine spokespersons and wine figures. They participate in various wine-related activities and contribute to wine. However, some girls have become phoenixes because of this. To a certain extent, they are also A beauty contest.

However, Yang Cheng couldn't appreciate it. Austrians and Germans are almost the same. There is almost no difference, especially for women. Their frames are larger and their facial features are stronger, which is not in line with the soft style that Orientals like.

You can see this just by looking at the maids in Vaduz Castle. They are all carefully selected by the royal family. They look like beauty pageant champions, but if you take any of them out, they will be looked at differently. They are all beautiful women. of.

But in Yang Cheng's eyes, that's all. The skin is not that white, the eyes are not blue enough, and the figure is 'strong', which is not his cup of tea anyway.

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