Austrian wines on the rise: Richard Esling, October 6
After a year of extreme weather events during 2021 in the Northern Hemisphere, the prophets of doom have spoken of some of the worst wine harvests for decades across Europe, particularly in France, Germany and parts of Italy.
A combination of late frosts, hailstorms and damp, cool summer weather has wreaked havoc in the vineyards, in complete contrast to the weather of 2020. One European country which seems to have escaped the worst ravages of Mother Nature is Austria.
In terms of volume, an average harvest of 2.4million hectolitres is expected in 2021, roughly similar to last year. The main effect of this year’s weather has been to delay the harvest a little, but quality is looking promising, with the prospect of fruity and harmonious wines. The cool climate of Austrian vineyards helped protect from frost damage as the bud burst was later and avoided damage to the young shoots, so devastating in other parts of Europe.