Austrian vineyards look to the future with biodynamics at the forefront

Austrian wines are far behind German wines in the world market, just as German wines are less and less popular around the world. Part of the dilemma is that too often wines from both countries have been deemed too sweet for the contemporary palate, reminiscent of the Blue Nun Liebfraumich. In fact, many of the best German and Austrian wines are, by design, intensely sweet, like the great beerenauslesen and trockenbeerenauslesen Riesling.

But the trend for decades in Austria has been to make fine dry wines, white and red, comparable to their counterparts in Germany, France (especially Alsace) and Italy, which geographically borders on Austria. and has a long wine history with.

To analyze the current Austrian wine landscape, in particular with its commitment to going ‘green’, I spoke with Fred Loimer, owner of Weingut Fred Loimer, whom Rudolf Steiner, the father of biodynamic agriculture, called this ideal “ the individuality of the farm ”. He is also the head of Respeckt, a political organization in the wine industry. In 2002, he was named “Winemaker of the Year” by the Austrian Falstaff wine review.

What does “Green Austria” mean? *

I’m not familiar with the term “green Austria” but I would like to mention that Austria is “a little darker green” compared to most of our neighbors. The structure of our cultivated land is small and the farms are mostly family businesses. For 20 years now, there has been a great race towards organic and biodynamic agriculture and for 5 years also towards sustainable agriculture, which can be considered as a first step in the right direction. Austria is currently No. 1 in the world, it has the highest percentage of certified organic farmland.

* Green Austria is a promotional term used for the country’s wines.

Tell me about “orange wines, natural wines”.

It all started in Austria with the “first wave” of biodynamics. Styrian winegrowers like Sepp Muster, Werlitsch, Tscheppe, etc. natural winemaking began and the biggest change was the fermentation of the whites on the skins. This was in the early 2000s. We at our estate started in 2003 with skin fermentation, switched to biodynamics 2 years later and started to gain our experience in natural winemaking in 2006 with the switch to biodynamics. So “orange”, “natural” and “raw” in Austria are very much linked to biodynamic or organic farming (at least), and this is a reaction to a boring very technical and technological mainstream of the majority of today in winemaking. These wines are obtaining more and more audience and also more and more a clean and clear profile.

Give me some of the basics that distinguish sustainable, organic and biodynamic viticulture.

Integrated. Today it is more or less the basic law of agriculture in Austria, nothing special. It was new and there were regulations like the need for canopy and the use of herbicides and insecticide regulations. It is today the basis of a reasoned viticulture which only measures the way of working, and if you reach a certain level you obtain the “sustainable” certification.

Organic — Agriculture is highly regulated. No artificial fertilizers (especially nitrogen), herbicides, synthetic and systemic fungicides are allowed in the field. Also cellar regulations (SO2 on lower levels), restricted list of fining products, no additives.

Biodynamic — Organic with a holistic approach. Agricultural individuality is the concept. This means that you have to use your own resources instead of buying the need for production. Two examples: no fertilizers are allowed, ONLY your own compost. No yeast, enzyme or bacteria allowed; you have to create your own microflora in your cellar. The fundamental law is European organic cultivation, biodynamic directives come from associations such as Demeter, Respekt, Biodyvin, etc.

When was Austria Bio Garantie GmbH founded and what is the scope of its controls? Each vineyard? The wines from each estate? How is it different from Demeter: Respekt-BIODYN: and sustainable Austria? These seem to do pretty much the same job, so it’s very confusing.

ABG (Austria Bio Garantie) is like Lacon and others, a company which has the authorization to control farms. I have no idea when it was founded. It is not a label or a mark. ABG controls, like Lacon, the organic certifications (EU BIO — the green flag), Bio Austria (organic), Demeter and Respekt (both biodynamic) as well as Sustainable Austria, which is a brand managed by the “Weinbauverband Austria”, a political organization association.

The organic and biodynamic farms are checked every year by appointment and once every 5 years per visit. Sustainable Austria is a kind of “self-check” and is certified and checked every 3 years.

Sustainable and organic / biodynamic are by far not the same.

How do Austrian winegrowers try to differentiate themselves from the Germans and Alsatians?

By language.

Are there still lingering fallout from the glycol scandal from a long time ago?

No! It is a story that has been useful and is happening in almost every wine country in their history. I think this has been linked to winemaking for thousands of years. Jesus turned water into wine

What is the availability of Austrian wines on the world market?

We are a niche, but if you search, you will find. We (Loimer) is available in 55 markets around the world. So not bad, but we have a lot to do in the future.

How do they keep prices at a sustainable level?

With passion for winemaking. We love wine and are born farmers. Marketing is something we learn step by step.

How has global warming affected Austrian vineyards?

The harvest is almost a month earlier today than 40 years ago. But we are doing well at the moment because Austria is after all a wine country with a cool climate. But the problem is serious and we take it seriously. This is one of the reasons why so many producers are switching to organic or biodynamic.

What will the industry be like in 5 years?

Hope that succeeded. No kidding! I hope a lot greener and I hope that between “tell a story” and the real quality is “”Veritas! “- At Vino Veritas!