Austria Vineyard Area, by Wine-Growing Region
The wine-growing region Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), by itself, accounts for a decided majority of Austria’s total vineyard area with more than 60% of the nation’s total area under vine. Ranking a distant second, at just over 26%, is the wine-growing region of Burgenland bordering the nation of Hungary. Although a vast geographic area made up of the Kärnten, Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Tirol, Vorarlberg regions, Bergland ranks last with less than 1% of Austria’s total vineyard area.
It's important to remember that Austria is an extremely mountainous country. It has a median national elevation of almost 3,000 feet. The high mountains, coupled with the persistent colder environments common at higher elevations, in addition to shorter growing seasons and insufficient soils at elevation, all combine to make viticulture difficult to impossible across much of Austria.
Only the eastern third of the country has the geographic conditions suited to viticulture. This is primarily due to the relatively lower elevation in this part of the country, and importantly, the course of the Danube River through Austria. The Danube and Lake Neusiedl (Neusiedler See), a large inland lake, together provide enough of a maritime influence to help mitigate the continental climate inherent in central, landlocked Europe. The Danube and Lake Neusiedl provide a sufficient microclimate in this part of Austria that enables successful viticulture.