2.53 million hectoliters (hl) of wine were harvested in Austria last year. The harvest volume was two percent above the five-year average and three percent higher than 2021, Statistics Austria reported on Thursday. There are therefore more high-quality red wines. The wine inventory increased by a total of one percent to 2.93 million hl and remained at a high level for the fourth year in a row – six percent above the five-year average.
The white wine harvest, which is always higher than the red wine harvest in Austria, remained at the level of 2021 last year, but rose by 2 percent to 1.74 million hectoliters compared to the five-year average. At 788,600 hl, red wine was harvested, eight percent more than in 2021 or one percent more than the five-year average.
With regard to wine products, the volume of quality and predicate wines was 2.31 million hl, two percent higher than in 2021 and the same volume as the five-year average. At 1.61 million hl, the production of white quality and predicate wines was one percent higher than in 2021. With 697,900 hl, high-quality red wines were up 5 percent on the previous year.
In a five-year comparison, Lower Austria, the largest wine-growing province, recorded an above-average harvest (plus three percent) at 1.61 million hl, but the harvest volume was one percent below the previous year’s production. White wine accounted for 1.26 million hl (minus two percent compared to 2021), while red wine recorded an increase of two percent with 347,700 hl.
The Weinviertel, which accounts for around half of the wine area in Lower Austria with a good 10,300 hectares, achieved a minus of three percent compared to 2021 with 899,700 hl. In terms of volume, the region accounts for a good third of the total Austrian harvest. The output is always greater than in the other important wine-growing states of Burgenland or Styria; the same applies to Vienna, of course.
In the easternmost state, for example, there was a wine harvest of 657,700 hectolitres on a good 4,800 hectares in 2022. The amount corresponded exactly to the five-year average, but exceeded that of 2021 by 13 percent. With 386,600 hl of red wine, a harvest volume that was 15 percent higher than in the previous year was achieved, and white wine also showed an increase of 10 percent compared to 2021 with 271,100 hl. Due to the climate, Burgenland is the only region in Austria where more red than white wine is harvested.
In Styria (a good 3,900 hectares), the harvest was 3 percent higher than in 2021. Compared to the five-year average, the harvest volume of 229,300 hl meant a minus of 4 percent. While the white wine harvest was 5 percent higher than the previous year at 181,700 hl, the production of red wine fell by 4 percent to 47,600 hl.
In the federal capital, 26,300 hl of wine were harvested on 471 hectares. That was an increase of 16 percent over the previous year and also an increase of 3 percent over the five-year increase.
In all other federal states together, a total of 5,652 hectoliters of wine were harvested on 140 hectares.
