The 2024 vintage was a roller-coaster ride for Austrian winemakers with late frosts, hail storms and torrential rain sometimes testing them to the limit. Harvest volumes suffered as a result, yet the wines they produced are very pleasing. The white wines are well-balanced and approachable, with attractive fruit, body and moderate acidity. The deep-coloured, concentrated red wines are expected to mature into an outstanding vintage that is likely to be one of the very best of the last few decades.
© Austrian Wine / Robert Herbst
Following a winter with sufficient rainfall, the warm start to spring caused the vines to bud early. In the second half of April, some regions were hit by severe late frosts, which only caused damage in low-lying vineyards in some regions, yet also affected premium vineyards in the Kamptal and Wachau. Flowering also took place earlier than usual. The damp weather during this period resulted in coulure, which led to a lower fruit set. From June onwards, hot summer spells sped up the vegetation process; unfortunately, some areas suffered hail damage again.
Find a comprehensive description of the 2024 vintage here
Harmonious, approachable wines
Due to the warm summer and the rapid ripening of the grapes as a result, the main harvest began as early as the end of August. In many areas, much of the harvest had already been completed by mid-September, at which point a dramatic change in the weather brought enormous amounts of rain, especially in Niederösterreich (Lower Austria). However, apart from forcing harvesters to take a break, this rain had no impact on the healthy grapes. Generally, vintners were able to pick very well ripened, relatively thick-skinned berries in the best of health, which, according to initial opinions, have produced generous, ripe white wines with a fine bouquet and good balance. The alcohol content varies significantly depending on both the region and the time of harvest. It is generally in the higher range, however, while acidity levels tend to be moderate.
Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, as well as grape varieties of the Pinot family, consistently display their unique varietal character and a distinct charming fruitiness. This can also be seen in Sauvignon and Muskateller in Steiermark (Styria), where extraordinarily high levels of sugar were achieved in some of the low-volume harvests.
A small quantity of high-grade sweet wines with clean botrytis could also be harvested at the end of November in the vineyards around Lake Neusiedl, which are predestined for these wines.
Picture perfect reds, packed with fruit and intensity
Winemakers in Burgenland’s red-wine strongholds, as well as in the Thermenregion and Carnuntum – the main red-wine-growing regions of Niederösterreich – have particular reason to be happy. Here, they harvested extremely small, thick-skinned berries with a high sugar content that were in perfect condition. Even the young, highly concentrated wines are extremely full-bodied and tense with pronounced notes of dark fruit. They are underpinned by a strong tannin backbone. This not only applies to Austria’s indigenous flagship varieties Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt, but also to Cabernet, Merlot and Pinot Noir.
We can therefore expect an excellent red wine vintage, following on seamlessly from the outstanding vintages of previous years, with the possibility of 2024 being one of the best in recent decades.
More on the 2024 vintage in Niederösterreich (Lower Austria)
More on the 2024 vintage in Burgenland
More on the 2024 vintage in Steiermark (Styria)
More on the 2024 vintage in Wien (Vienna)
Varying conditions in the Bergland region
The Bergland region was subject to very diverse conditions. Oberösterreich (Upper Austria) saw a similar climatic development to the one in Niederösterreich, which led to powerful yet approachable wines. Kärnten (Carinthia) was spared the heavy rainfall in September and the winegrowers there harvested healthy grapes with a good level of sugar. In Tirol (Tyrol) and Vorarlberg, 2024 proved very challenging. The year was marked by adverse periods of weather, which resulted in a lower-than-average harvest volume.
More on the 2024 vintage in the Bergland
The slight downside: harvest volumes
The downside of the 2024 vintage for Austrian winemakers is generally the low harvest volume. All regions have recorded significantly lower volumes than the average of recent years. This was due to several factors, including the late frosts and coulure during the flowering period. The resulting grapes were mainly loosely clustered, small and healthy with a lower juice content. However, it is now apparent that this has produced grapes of promising to outstanding quality