In the new Falstaff Wine Guide Austria 2024/25, we recommend around 4000 wines. The conclusion of the critical assessment: Austria as a wine-growing country has never been at such a high level as it is today.
In the 27th edition of this guide, you will find an enormous variety of wines of all local varieties and categories, which we would like to recommend to you from the bottom of our hearts. Of course, the past year was not an easy one for winegrowers in Austria either. The geopolitical situation has made the market more unstable and production costs have risen in all areas. Prices for labor, energy and all basic materials have skyrocketed, and this has also affected the pricing of wines. Persistent inflation is causing many households to cut back, and retailers and restaurants are feeling the effects. And yet, fortunately, consumers appreciate the high quality of local wines and remain loyal to them. The bottom line is that Austrian wines can still hold their own thanks to their good price-performance ratio, as shown by the export results of the last period.
The provisional full-year export figures for 2023 are available from Statistics Austria. A total of 65.0 million liters of Austrian wine worth 238.2 million euros were exported last year. This corresponds to an increase in value of 2.7% with a loss in volume of 4.7%. The average price per liter rose to 3.66 euros - the highest value to date. In the individual product groups, the export value of bottled white wines increased by 7.3% and bottled red wines by 3.4%. A look at the individual export markets reveals a very different picture: Germany, the most important and highly price-sensitive export market, increased its value by an impressive 14.8%, exceeding the EUR 100 million mark for the first time (EUR 108.6 million). Austria thus generated almost half (45.6%) of its export revenue there. In the next most important export countries, Switzerland (-15.5%), the Netherlands (-2.2%), the USA (-11.5%) and the Nordic monopoly markets (Finland, Norway, Sweden; -4.1%), Austria also suffered losses in value. On the other hand, growth was again recorded in Canada (+16.7%) and the Asian markets.
The continuous development in the cultivation of domestic vineyards is very pleasing: 25 percent of the 44,537 hectares of total area are cultivated by winegrowers who are "Nachhaltig Austria" certified, while Austria's 9,901 hectares of organically and/or biodynamically certified areas are already at the top of the international league table with 22 percent. This important development towards organic viticulture is reflected particularly strongly in the top wineries: never before has the proportion of organic wines been as high as in this edition of the Falstaff Wine Guide, with a total of 1,238 wineries certified organic.
The Falstaff Wine Guide helps you find your personal favorites. Here we provide an insight into the winners of the most important categories.
The Falstaff Wine Guide 2024/25 will be available in stores and online from June 24 at a price of 19.90 euros.
IN ENGLISH: ULTIMATE WINE GUIDE
The guide provides wine lovers with information on nearly 220 wineries that are particularly active on the international market – all reviewed and rated. The wines and tasting notes are provided with ratings and serve as a recommendation to buy, in addition, the vintage comparison shows the development of the wines.
The best Blaufränkisch: Moric Winery
The best Chardonnay/Morillon: Winery Erwin Sabathi
The best Grüner Veltliner: Weingut Prager
The best wine from neighboring countries: Marjan Simčič Winery
The best of Riesling: Weingut Ludwig Neumayer
The best sparkling wine: Malat Winery
The best red cuvée: Weingut Gesellmann
The best Sauvignon Blanc: Sattlerhof family winery
The best sweet wine: Weingut Bründlmayer
Best of variety: Rotes Haus winery
Best of Zweigelt: Winery St. Bayer
The up-and-coming winemakers from the 2024/25 wine guide
