Wine values explained

Origin

The origin names the wine-growing area a wine comes from. The vineyards on our wine pages lie in Teesdorf, Tattendorf, Leobersdorf and Baden, all in the Thermenregion in the province of Lower Austria.

Since the 2023 vintage there has been the protected origin Thermenregion DAC. A wine may only carry this name if it meets the rules of the Thermenregion, for example on grape variety, alcohol content and residual sugar. Within the DAC there are three levels: regional wine, village wine with the name of an approved wine-growing municipality and single-vineyard wine with the name of a Ried. A quality wine that does not meet these rules carries Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) as its origin, which is also a wine-growing area in its own right.

Harvest

The harvest date is the day on which we picked the grapes for this wine. When we harvest depends on the ripeness, the weather and the health of the grapes, so the date changes from year to year.

Ripeness at harvest

The ripeness at harvest, or must weight, shows how much sugar the freshly pressed grape juice, the must, contained. In Austria it is measured with the Klosterneuburg must scale in degrees KMW (°KMW).

The figure gives the sugar as a percentage by weight: at 19 °KMW, 100 kg of must contain roughly 19 kg of sugar. It has nothing to do with per cent alcohol, even though more sugar becomes more alcohol during fermentation. For an Austrian quality wine the must needs at least 15 °KMW.

Bottling

The bottling date is the day on which the wine went into the bottle. It appears in the “Values” card only for the wines for which we have given it.

Alcohol

Alcohol is given as a percentage by volume (% vol): this is the share of the wine that is pure alcohol. It forms during fermentation, when the yeast converts the sugar in the must.

An Austrian quality wine has at least 9 per cent by volume, a Prädikatswein such as an Auslese at least 5. The figure on the label may generally differ from the measured value by no more than half a percentage point. A difference of 0.8 percentage points is allowed, among others, for semi-sparkling and sparkling wine and for wines with a protected origin that have spent more than three years in the bottle.

Residual sugar and sweetness

Residual sugar is the sugar that remains in the finished wine, given in grams per litre (g/l). Usually it is sugar that the yeast did not ferment; for some wines sweetening is also permitted. Whether a wine may be called dry or medium sweet is laid down by EU wine law in Regulation (EU) 2019/33, Annex III, and for semi-sparkling wine in Austria by the Wine Designation Ordinance.

For still wine, acidity counts as well: a wine with plenty of acidity may contain a little more sugar and still be called dry. That is why some of our wine pages carry a sentence explaining why a wine is dry despite more than 4 g/l of residual sugar.

For still wine, Part B applies:

• dry: no more than 4 g/l, or up to 9 g/l if the acidity is at most 2 g/l below the residual sugar
• medium dry: more than dry, at most 12 g/l, or up to 18 g/l if the acidity is at most 10 g/l lower
• medium sweet: more than medium dry, at most 45 g/l
• sweet: at least 45 g/l

For semi-sparkling wine such as our Frühzzante, the Austrian Wine Designation Ordinance applies:

• dry: 0 to 35 g/l
• medium dry: 35 to 50 g/l
• sweet: over 50 g/l

For sparkling wine such as Sekt, Part A applies, with different levels:

• brut nature: below 3 g/l, with no sugar added after the second fermentation
• extra brut: 0 to 6 g/l
• brut: below 12 g/l
• extra dry: 12 to 17 g/l
• dry: 17 to 32 g/l
• medium dry: 32 to 50 g/l
• sweet: over 50 g/l

Acidity

The figure is the total acidity of the wine in grams per litre, calculated as tartaric acid. Acidity brings freshness. An Austrian quality wine needs at least 4 g/l.

Extract (sugar-free)

Extract is everything dissolved in the wine that does not evaporate in the laboratory: sugar, non-volatile acids such as tartaric, malic and lactic acid, glycerol, minerals and tannins. Our wine pages give the sugar-free extract, that is this remainder without the sugar, in grams per litre.

Sulphur

In wine, sulphur more precisely means sulphur dioxide (SO₂). Part of it binds to other components, the rest stays free. Free sulphur protects the wine above all against oxidation and microbes; some of the bound sulphur can become free again. Total sulphur is both together, and the legal maximum applies to it.

For conventional wine in the EU that is 150 mg/l for red wine and 200 mg/l for white and rosé wine, and from 5 g/l of sugar 200 and 250 mg/l; for Auslese, Beerenauslese and Eiswein the limits are higher. Organic wine is allowed less: below 2 g/l of residual sugar at most 100 mg/l for red wine and 150 mg/l for white and rosé wine, otherwise 30 mg/l below the conventional value in each case.

Our wine pages give both figures, free and total, in milligrams per litre. For wines whose malolactic conversion takes place in the barrel, we add sulphur for the first time only after it is finished, which saves sulphur.

Energy value

The energy value shows how much energy the wine contains, in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal) per 100 ml. It is calculated from the wine's analysis values.

Since 8 December 2023, newly produced wines in the EU need a nutrition declaration and a list of ingredients. The energy value is printed directly on the label, while ingredients and the other nutritional values may be shown via a QR code, the so-called e-label.

Batch

A batch is a defined lot of a wine. The “Values” card gives its quantity in litres.

Official inspection number

Austrian quality wine may only be sold with an official inspection number, which appears on the label. To obtain it, the winery submits a sample to one of the two responsible federal offices.

First the wine is analysed in the laboratory. Then the official tasting panel tastes it blind and checks whether it is typical of its designation and origin. Only when both are in order does the wine receive its number. From the application onwards nothing may be changed in the wine, apart from the usual care.