Vintage 2022 put Austrian winegrowers through their paces

The Austrian Wine Marketing Board has released its assessment of last year's vintage, highlighting the “unusual weather conditions that certainly put Austrian winemakers through their paces.” The report states that despite a mild winter with very little precipitation, budding did not occur until the end of April, which is relatively late. Then, after a long spell of dry weather, the vines blossomed relatively early, brought out by the warmth. In most regions throughout Austria, however, this was accompanied by heavy rainfall. “Vintners in these wine-growing regions had their hands full, trying to keep the threat of fungal diseases, especially Peronospora, at bay. Coulure, which occurred in certain regions, also had a natural thinning effect on the clusters,” said a representative from the Marketing Board. However, like most of western Europe, Austria enjoyed a very torrid summer in 2022. According to the report, the vines had to cope with “extreme dryness – the likes of which had ...